Ruprechtskirche, the oldest church in Vienna

Brief information:

• Where is the Rupert's Church? Address: 1, 1010 Vienna
• What is there to see? It is the oldest church in Vienna and has the oldest preserved windows in the city
• When is it open? Only very sporadically, here you will find the opening times
• How much is the entrance fee? For free

General

The Rupert Church is considered the oldest surviving church in Vienna and is located in the immediate vicinity of the Danube Canal in the first district. The church was founded in the 8th century and is dedicated to Saint Rupert, one of the first Christian missionaries in what is now Austria.

St. Rupert's Church has undergone numerous changes and extensions over the centuries. Originally it was a small Romanesque church, with a Gothic choir added in the 12th century. In the 17th century, the church was finally remodeled in the Baroque style, with the tower being raised and a new portal added.

In the church

The chancel and the windows

The apse, which was built after the great city fire of 1276 and adjoins the nave, was dismantled and rebuilt in the 1820s to prevent collapse. The old stones were reused for the vault. The dominant eye-catcher in the apse is the Romanesque stone altar.

In the middle window of the apse are two stained glass pictures, which are considered to be the oldest preserved in Vienna and date from around 1300. The upper pane shows the crucifixion of Jesus with Mary and John, the lower pane shows the enthroned Madonna with the baby Jesus. Although the panes are very weathered, the substance is largely original and has hardly been added to. The inscription below, which was added in the 1930s, tells the legend of the church's founding in brief.

The side windows, designed by Heinrich Tahedl in 1949, show scenes from the life of Saint Rupert in Salzburg. In the window on the north side of the apse, Lydia Roppolt took up the theme of the founding legend.

Stained glass windows

In 1992-1993, the stained glass windows on the north wall were designed by Lydia Roppolt (1922-1995), a world-famous artist. The windows show a biblical cycle in impressive figurative representations, which consists of three parts and expresses praise for rescue from distress and tribulation. The scenes depicted include Daniel in the lion's den, Jonah and the whale, and the three youths in the fiery furnace.

Wooden statues

The openwork south wall of the church features two ornate wooden statues that draw attention. One of the statues is the Rupert Statue, which can be dated back to the year 1370. The other is a Madonna in the late Gothic style, which was created between 1510 and 1520. The dark face on the underside of the hanging sculpture is striking, which is often interpreted as a moon face and thus represents a special symbolism.

The side aisle

The windows of the south wall and the apse in the side aisle are also by Lydia Roppolt and show the thematic cycle “The Praise of Creation”, which, however, is not based on the biblical days of creation, but on poems written by the long-standing church rector Father Joop Roeland OSA. In the last window, entitled “Encounter with People”, the text of the corresponding poem is integrated into the depiction.

On the neo-Gothic side altar there is another object of contemporary sacred art: the tabernacle, which was created in 1998 by Ignaz Kienast (*1961) and has barrel staves with complex symbolism on the front of the bronze body. Directly in front of it is the baptismal font from the year 1500.

On the west wall above the gallery staircase hangs a painting from the early 18th century called “The Glory of St. Rupert” and was created by the so-called Wiener Schmidt.

Under the gallery, on the north wall, stands the reliquary of St. Vitalis with a baroque-clad skeleton, which is said to come from the catacombs of Rome. Shrines of this kind were widespread in the 18th century.

The crypt

It is located under the church and is of uncertain age, but has been rebuilt several times. Nobody really knows what is in the crypt...

St. Rupert's Church is an important cultural and historical monument in Vienna and a place of peace and reflection in the middle of the hectic city center. Anyone interested in the history of Vienna and Christianity should definitely plan a visit.