Saturday 21 February 2015

Wotruba Church
Where Art and the City meet the Vienna Woods


The Wotruba Church
Built between 1974 and 1976 on the top of a hill,
where the Vienna Woods meet the outskirts of the city -
Designed by the Austrian artist and sculptor Fritz Wotruba,
with technical plans by architect Fritz Gerhard Mayer


From the Outside looking in
The nave awash in evening light
streaming in through plain glass windows,
illuminating the interior, with the concrete walls
reflecting the sky and surrounding woods -
an unexpected lightness, considering the rather
fortresslike concrete exterior


Wotruba Church - Church of the Holy Trinity
Filialkirche zur Heiligsten Dreifaltigkeit Mauer
St. Georgenberg - St. George Hill
Liesing (23rd District)

The church can be reached from the Inner City
by taking metro U4 from Karlsplatz to Hietzing station,
from there tram #60 to the end station at Rodaun

Photographed 20 February 2015
© by Merisi

Links:
-> For anyone looking for information about Vienna,
I recommend bookmarking the Vienna Direct Homepage

-> Quote from The Wotruba Church at Vienna Direct:
"The Kirche zur Heiligsten Dreifaltigkeit is considered by most art critics to be his ultimate artistic achievement." (...)
"Wotruba had found his inspiration during a visit to the French city of Chartres, a place that embodied the essence of modern Europe to him, and started working on the plans in 1967. Unfortunately the sculptor died in 1975, before the completion of the church. His collaborator, the architect Fritz G. Mayr, finished the work, thus achieving his vision of a temple to God in today’s modern world."

-> Skies from all over the World: Sky Watch Friday

12 comments:

  1. Ein' feste Burg ist unser Gott? This unusual church brings the old hymn to mind.

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  2. Wow - that's an amazing building! Nice shots.

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  3. It reminds me of Cubism Architecture I saw in the Czech Republic. Do I like it? Well, I do and I don't! It is quite brutalist to my eye, but I admire your photo looking upwards and creating a softening effect from the trees.

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  4. This church is very intriguing, Merisi. I am curious to see what its interior is like. Does it have a congregation? I wonder about the accoustics/

    The architecture does seem very wintry, and your excellent photographs capture that sense very well.

    xo

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  5. In stark contrast to most of your architectural photographs of Vienna. I find the modern rather cold and uninviting. However no gargoyles is a plus.

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  6. It's rather bizarre to my eyes, very modern.

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  7. What a sculptural building, I like the way it contrasts with the woods beyond.

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  8. Makes me think of a modern art museum, not a church; and, it reminds me of the blocks found in a children's game my daughters used to play. Still, I find it appealing. Nice shots.

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  9. Thanks for the unexpected pleasure of this robust and quirky church. I have long known about it, but never worked out how to get there : now there is a vision, and directions !

    Loving these jaunts around the outer areas, but still snow? brrr...back to Cafe Diglas for a warm.
    Love the reflections picture enigmatically revvealing our photographer.

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  10. wow .. its beautiful but not what i would have expected in Vienna

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