Hetzendorfer Pfarrkirche, Romanesque Revival parish church in Hetzendorf, Meidling, Vienna, Austria
Hetzendorfer Pfarrkirche is a freestanding Romanesque Revival church with Jugendstil elements, built as a 'Gottesburg' with a small crossing tower and two polygonal turrets with pointed spires above the south gable facade. The main portal is crowned by a wimperg and a figure group of the Madonna and Child flanked by Saints Dominic and Catherine. A bell tower with a visible clock adjoins the east side of the transept, and arcades connect the church to the parish house.
The church was built between 1908 and 1909 by architects Hubert Gangl and Eugen Felgel. It replaced an earlier parish church at nearby Schloss Hetzendorf due to rapid population growth in the district.
The three paintings behind the altar are Ernst Fuchs's triptych Die Geheimnisse des hochheiligen Rosenkranzes, made in 1958/1959 on goatskin and hung in the church in 1960. A man led by pamphlets against the triptych badly damaged it in 1979; restorer Donald Corcoran and his wife restored it in 1989/1990 before it was rehung.
The building underwent comprehensive renovation between April and October 2008 with modern facilities installed. An adapted crypt has been available for services since 1982.
During World War II, the church was heavily damaged by bombs on October 17, 1944, while serving as a shelter for local residents. The attack resulted in the loss of 16 civilian lives.
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