Augustinian Church, Gothic parish church in Innere Stadt, Vienna, Austria.
The Augustinian Church on Josefsplatz is a Gothic church 85 m long and 20 m wide, its nave built from 1330 to 1339. A square tower with a clock and a spired crown rises on the north side. The interior is three-aisled, 43 m long and 20 m high, with a 40 m high choir and a gilded high altar.
Duke Frederick the Handsome founded the church for the Augustinian friars in 1327; the nave by Dietrich Landtner was built 1330–1339 and consecrated on 1 November 1349. Made imperial court parish church in 1634, it hosted Habsburg weddings, including Maria Theresa (1736) and Franz Joseph I with Elisabeth (1854). Joseph II's regotisation of 1784–85 removed 18 side altars.
The church is known for its weekly Sunday High Mass with full orchestra and choir, and concertante masses by Mozart, Haydn and Schubert are performed there. Franz Schubert conducted his Mass in F major in this church, and Anton Bruckner's Mass in F minor was written for it and first performed here. The Loreto Chapel holds silver urns with the hearts of 54 Habsburg rulers.
The church stands beside the Hofburg Palace and is easy to reach on foot in the city center. Visitors should check ahead for service times and classical music performances, which happen regularly throughout the year and may affect visitor access.
The white marble cenotaph of Archduchess Maria Christina, carved by Antonio Canova between 1800 and 1805, takes the form of a pyramid, quoting the Roman Pyramid of Cestius. Canova reused its design for his own tomb in Venice's Frari church. The monument stands on the right, western wall of the nave.
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