Gersthofer Pfarrkirche, Roman Catholic parish church in Währing, Vienna, Austria
Gersthofer Pfarrkirche is a free-standing Gothic Revival brick church on Bischof-Faber-Platz in Gersthof, designed by Richard Jordan and built under Josef Schmalzhofer from 1887. It is a symmetrical hall church: a square tower on the south facade with the main portal, a polygonal choir to the north, and a main nave flanked by two lower aisles. A sacristy annex stands to the west, the Osterkapelle to the east.
The parish, founded in 1784 under Joseph II's reforms, first used the Johannes-Nepomuk-Kapelle. When that chapel became too small, pastor Ignaz Winkelmayer set up a church building society in 1885, and construction began in 1887 on the former second Gersthof cemetery, donated by industrialist Albert Dub. The church was consecrated on 15 November 1891, St Leopold's feast day; parish rights passed to it in 1899.
The church is dedicated to Saint Leopold, whose feast day of 15 November was chosen for the consecration in 1891. The parish keeps a Nativity crib carved by Grödnertal sculptors at the end of the 19th century and repainted in 1994. A sculpture of Saint Cecilia of Rome by Ferdinand Stuflesser stands inside.
The building is located at Bischof-Faber-Platz 7 in Vienna and welcomes visitors who wish to explore its interior. It helps to call ahead before visiting to confirm the opening status and any access details.
The church's organ, built in 1933 by Dreher & Flamm, has 22 registers. Less noticed is that Richard Jordan's drawings for this church and the Redemptorist Church were shown at the 1900 Paris World's Fair, a detail that places a Gersthof parish church in an international exhibition.
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