| Reformed City Church of Vienna | |
| Native Name: | Reformierte Stadtkirche Wien |
| Native Name Lang: | German |
| Country: | Austria |
| Website: | https://www.reformiertestadtkirche.at |
The Reformed City Church of Vienna is a church building that belongs to the Evangelical Church of the Helvetic Confession in Austria. It is located in Vienna's 1st municipal district, Innere Stadt, on Dorotheergasse.
Situated at the corner of narrow streets in the old town, the church and its vicarage were constructed as a Tolerance Prayer House for the local Reformed parish, established in 1782 following the Tolerance Patent. The Classicist building complex, erected on the site of an abandoned monastery between 1783 and 1784, was designed by architect Gottlieb Nigelli. In 1887, the church received a neo-Baroque single-tower façade, designed by Ignaz Sowinski. Reflecting the Reformed interpretation of the Second Commandment, the interior of the church is devoid of images.
The Reformed City Church serves as the seat of the Evangelical Parish of H.B. Innere Stadt and the Evangelical Church of H.B. in Austria. It is also home to several foreign-language congregations, which are organized under various legal frameworks and host cultural events. The church is a protected historical monument.
Protestant church services in Vienna were prohibited until the issuance of the Tolerance Patent by Emperor Joseph II in 1781. During the Counter-Reformation, secret Protestantism primarily existed in more remote areas of Austria. An exception to this prohibition, tolerated by the state despite opposition from the Vienna Archbishops, was the Reformed church services held at the Dutch legation in Vienna. These services were accessible to the Viennese population and conducted in German. The first known legation preacher was Philipp Otto Vietor, who served in Vienna from 1671 to 1673.
The worship community of the Dutch legation laid the foundation for the Viennese Reformed congregation (H.B.), which was formally established following the Tolerance Patent on 2 March 1782. The congregation appointed Carl Wilhelm Hilchenbach, the former legation preacher, as its first pastor. On 13 March 1782, the parish purchased the farm buildings of the former Royal Monastery for 23,900 guilders to construct a Tolerance Prayer House with a rectory. The monastery, described by the travel writer Friedrich Nicolai as having a "miserable reputation," was among the first to be dissolved during the Josephine Church Reform. Similarly, the Viennese Lutheran congregation (A.B.) was founded as a result of the Tolerance Patent and acquired the former monastery church adjacent to the farm buildings, which was converted into the Lutheran City Church. The farm buildings were subsequently demolished. Gottlieb Nigelli, a sub-architect in the Court Building Office and protégé of State Chancellor Wenzel Kaunitz, was assigned the task of planning the Reformed House of Prayer. At the time the contract was awarded, Nigelli was not yet a recognized or experienced architect.[1]
The foundation stone for the Tolerance Prayer House was laid on 26 March 1783. In accordance with the provisions of the Tolerance Patent, the building was required to be indistinguishable as a church from the outside and lacked a street-side entrance. As a result, architect Gottlieb Nigelli designed the street façade to resemble a simple residential building, with the two main portals concealed within an inner courtyard not visible from the alley. The interior was designed in a Classicist style, which was considered progressive for its time. The house of prayer was consecrated on 25 December 1784.
The industrialist and banker Johann von Fries, who made the largest financial contribution to the construction of the prayer house, simultaneously commissioned the Palais Fries-Pallavicini on another plot of the former royal monastery. The neoclassical palace was designed by Johann Ferdinand Hetzendorf von Hohenberg, Nigelli's superior in the Court Building Office. A controversy arose between supporters of both architects regarding the artistic quality of the new buildings, a debate that was discussed in various journals and pamphlets. The Fries-Pallavicini Palace faced criticism for the unusual proportions of its exterior and the elaborate caryatids by Franz Anton von Zauner at the main portal. Some commentators suggested that "the architect's intention seems to have been deliberately to draw the eye away from the essentials of the building so as not to notice the flaws of the whole."[2]
In contrast, the Reformed House of Prayer faced the challenge of "drawing the line between extravagant splendor and raw simplicity; and woe betide the architect who is not philosopher enough before he picks up the tools."[3] An anonymous author, presumably Nigelli, responded to these critiques, likely receiving a reply from Hohenberg, accusing him of being "Vienna's Trasyllus,"[4] referencing the ancient philosopher who compromised his integrity through his relationship with Emperor Tiberius. As a result of this controversy, Hohenberg had Nigelli transferred from Vienna to the provincial building directorate in Brno.
In 1794, the Reformed and Lutheran parishes in Vienna established a joint school, initially held in the parsonages of both parishes. These parsonages were connected on the second floor by an opening in the firewall, which was later bricked up. Since 1862, the school has been located in a building on Karlsplatz.
Archduchess Henriette of Austria, born a princess of Nassau-Weilburg, maintained her Reformed faith after marrying Archduke Karl of Austria in 1815 and relocating to Vienna. However, it was considered inappropriate for an archduchess to enter the church through a back door in an inner courtyard. In response, court architect Johann Amann obtained permission in 1815 for a structural modification that complied with the Tolerance Patent restrictions. He created an entrance in the side façade of the prayer house, leading into an intermediate passageway that was designated as not part of the actual sacred space. This entrance, known as the Henriettentor, was reserved exclusively for the archduchess. After Henriette's death in the summer of 1830, the gate was walled up.
The Protestant Patent of 1861 granted Protestants in Austria more extensive rights than the Tolerance Patent issued 80 years earlier, allowing the exterior of the prayer house to resemble that of a church. After years of deliberation, the leadership of the congregation decided in 1885 to redesign the building, which included changes to the external appearance and adaptations to the rectory to meet contemporary living requirements. Architect Ignaz Sowinski, a pupil of Heinrich von Ferstel, won a public tender for the project in 1887. Sowinski was just at the beginning of his career at that time.[5]
Construction work began on 8 August 1887. The exterior was entirely transformed into the neo-Baroque style, making the Reformed prayer house the first Protestant church in Vienna to feature a church tower. Sowinski also added a new main portal to the neo-Baroque façade facing Dorotheergasse. Neo-Baroque, theoretically supported by art historian Albert Ilg, increasingly became recognized as an Austrian "national style" in the 1880s. The side façade facing Stallburggasse was also redesigned.
The new main entrance necessitated a redesign of the interior. The positions of the pulpit and organ were swapped, and the church interior was rotated by 180 degrees. A new organ loft was constructed above the main portal in the original apse, and the existing right-side gallery was extended, increasing the total seating capacity to 205. The rectory largely retained its previous external appearance, though significant structural modifications were made internally. Due to dampness on the ground floor, a basement was added. The layout of the rooms on the two upper floors was altered, and new corridors were created. All sanitary facilities, as well as gas, water, and electricity pipes, doors, windows, floors, and the heating system, were completely renewed. The two connecting wings between the rectory and the church were also updated with a newly constructed staircase and sacristy.
The conversion incurred previously unestimated costs. For the rectory's basement, the remains of the foundation of the Königinkloster monastery, made of quarry stone masonry, had to be removed through chiseling work, and a new foundation was subsequently laid for the firewall of the rectory. The construction work was completed within the planned timeframe on 3 December 1887; however, construction costs escalated from the originally estimated 6,500 Austrian guilders to 56,239 guilders.
After the reconstruction in 1887, the essential features of the Reformed Town Church remained largely unchanged. In 1895, three bells were installed in the church tower for the first time, named after their donors: Christoph and Berta Cloeter (parents of author Hermine Cloeter) and Philipp Ritter von Schoeller, along with contributions from parishioners. During World War I, the state confiscated these bells for melting. Following a collection among parishioners, three new bells were cast in 1932 by the Pfundner Bell Foundry, although the two larger bells were melted down during World War II. In 1979, after a donation from presbyter Karl Matysek, the Grassmayr Bell Foundry recast two new bells along with the remaining original bell.
Interior and exterior renovations were conducted in 1901 and 1906, with further work occurring during the interwar period in 1928 and 1934, as well as during the occupation of Austria in 1952 and 1953. A comprehensive interior restoration in 1962 aimed to approximate the original Classicist form of the church, during which parts of the original wall paintings were uncovered. The entire building complex was restored between 1979 and 1984. InIn April 1997, the Reformed City Church became the first church building in Austria to install a photovoltaic system. The 30 m² solar system on the church roof has an annual electricity yield of approximately 2,800 kWh.[6] The last exterior restoration of the church was carried out in 1999. In the summer of 2006, the interior of the church was renovated, and the parish hall, kitchen, and toilet facilities were refurbished.[7]
The Reformed City Church serves as the seat of the Protestant parish of H.B. Vienna Innere Stadt and as the headquarters for the leadership of the Protestant Church of H.B. in Austria, known as the Oberkirchenrat H.B.[8] It is also home to the church's newspaper, Reformiertes Kirchenblatt.[9] Regular Sunday services have always begun at ten o'clock, a tradition since the congregation's founding.
In its early years, the congregation observed the Tolerance Festival on 13 October to commemorate Emperor Joseph II's Patent of Tolerance issued in 1781. However, this tradition was discontinued during the Revolutions of 1848 and replaced by a church service for Reformation Day on 31 October. Other widely celebrated Christian feast day services have only been held in the Reformed City Church since the second half of the 20th century: the Christmas Mass has been celebrated annually since 1957, and the Easter Vigil since 1972. The Palm Thursday service, first celebrated in 1969, always takes place on the Thursday before Palm Sunday. At the time of its introduction, it was the only service in Vienna where members of other denominations were officially invited to partake in communion.Additionally, the Reformed City Church has hosted services in various languages. In 1851, theology professor Karol Kuzmány and his students began holding regular Czech-language services in the church. This tradition was continued by Heřman z Tardy, who came from Prussian Silesia and was appointed senior church councilor in Vienna in 1867. In 1891, Tardy initiated an association with the goal of founding a separate Czech Reformed congregation and building a congregation center. However, this project was hindered by financial difficulties following World War I. Czech-language services continued regularly until 1945 and occasionally until 1969.
From 1868 until shortly before World War I, two guest preachers held a French-language service every Sunday after the German-language service. Since the early 20th century, there have been occasional Hungarian-language services, typically organized by the Reformed Church in Hungary. The influx of Reformed refugees to Austria following the Hungarian National Uprising of 1956 led to the establishment of the Hungarian Pastoral Service (USD), which operates under the Evangelical Church of H.B. in Austria. The USD holds services at the Reformed City Church every Sunday at 5 p.m.[10] Additionally, the Vienna Community Church (VCC), an interdenominational association founded in 1957, celebrates English-language services every Sunday at noon in the Reformed City Church.[11]
Each year, the Reformed parish hosts a charitable Advent market known as the "Henriettenmarkt," named after the Reformed Archduchess Henriette of Austria.[12] This market commemorates her introduction of the Christmas tree decorated with candles in Vienna in 1816, a tradition she brought from her home in Nassau-Weilburg. The custom later gained popularity among the Viennese aristocracy, including Emperor Franz I. In the first half of the 20th century, the church had its own choir, the Evangelical Reformed Choir Association, which was directed by Fritz Schreiber in 1924.
The Reformed City Church has a long tradition as a concert venue. The blind court organist Josef Labor gave several concerts there from 1905 to 1907, and in the 1930s, the Vienna State Opera, the Wiener Männergesang-Verein, and mezzo-soprano Rosette Anday performed in the church. In the 1980s, the Mozart Boys' Choir also performed regularly. During the 2006 renovations, efforts were made to improve the church's suitability for concerts, including the installation of a sound system, enhanced lighting, and castors for the communion table. From 2004 to 2011, the Reformed City Church also served as an annual venue for the Vienna Independent Shorts film festival.[13]
| Name | Term of office | |
|---|---|---|
| Carl Wilhelm Hilchenbach | 1782–1816 | |
| Johann Friedrich Schobinger | 1789–1790 | |
| Carl Cleynmann | 1794–1815 | |
| Justus Hausknecht | 1816–1834 | |
| Carl Wilhelm Faesi | 1817–1829 | |
| Gottfried Franz | 1829–1873 | |
| Hermann Theodor Ernst | 1836–1861 | |
| Cornelius August Wilkens | 1861–1879 | |
| Carl Alphons Witz | 1874–1918 | |
| Friedrich Otto Schack | 1880–1922 | |
| Gustav Zwernemann | 1913–1946 | |
| Johann Karl Egli | 1927–1952 | |
| Hermann Noltensmeier | 1946–1963 | |
| Hermann Rippel | 1956–1963 | |
| Alexander Abrahamowicz | 1957–1990 | |
| Peter Karner | 1965–2004 | |
| Erwin Liebert | 1990–1995 | |
| Johannes Langhoff | 1997–2017 | |
| Harald Kluge | seit 2005 | |
| Réka Juhász | seit 2017 |
In 1861, a presbytery, chaired by a curator, replaced the college of rectors at the Reformed City Church. Two Swiss naturalists played significant roles in shaping parish life as curators up until the First World War. Johann Jakob von Tschudi served as curator from 1874 to 1883, overseeing preparations for the 1887 reconstruction. His successor, Karl Brunner-von Wattenwyl, held the position from 1884 to 1914, completing the project. From the late 19th century, several members of the Rhenish Schoeller family were active in church leadership. Alexander von Schoeller was among the first, serving as rector in 1851 and later as a presbyter from 1862. He was followed by Gustav Adolph von Schoeller in 1867 and Philipp von Schoeller, who held the position from 1889 to 1915. Paul Eduard von Schoeller was elected to the presbytery in 1919.
From 2005 to 2017, Peter Duschet, a specialist in skin and venereal diseases, served as trustee of the community.[15] [16] Gabriele Jandrasits was curator from 2017 until 2023, with Norbert Chytil assuming the role in October 2023.
The Reformed City Church is located at Dorotheergasse 16, in the district between Graben and the Hofburg. The complex consists of the church building and the adjacent vicarage to the south, connected by two side wings that enclose a trapezoidal inner courtyard. The site is bordered to the west by Friesian tenement houses and to the south by the Lutheran City Church. The main façade of the church and vicarage faces Dorotheergasse, while the northern façade of the church runs along Stallburggasse. Plankengasse creates a visual axis between the church tower and the Donnerbrunnen at Neuer Markt.
The main façade of the Reformed City Church, designed in a neo-Baroque style, features two distinct zones. The main zone is marked by Ionic giant pilasters and a central portal with a metal gate. The windows are framed in the neo-Baroque style. Above the portal axis, a segmental gable is attached to the central risalit, topped by a broken triangular pediment. A vase balustrade connects to the Tuscan corner pilasters. The tower reaches a height of 42 meters, with brickwork extending up to 30 meters. At its top, above a kinked gable, sits a tall lantern dome, covered in copper.
The side façade facing the courtyard retains early neoclassical elements, while the side facing Stallburggasse was remodeled in 1887 to reflect this style. Both façades feature large thermal windows, and the Stallburggasse façade is further structured with wall panels. A small metal door here resembles the main gate from 1887 but is distinct from the Henriettentor built in 1815, which has since been removed. On the outer wall facing the inner courtyard, two former main entrances, framed by Tuscan half-columns and a straight entablature, can be found. Above these former main entrances is a circular memorial plaque dedicated to Emperor Joseph II, with Latin text based on a design by Göttinger Professor Christian Gottlob Heyne.