Votivkirche

Votivkirche tickets: which one to buy

Entry to the nave is free. The museum in the north tower, which holds the Antwerp Altar of 1460 and the tomb of Count Salm, defender of Vienna against the Turks in 1529, charges a small ticket. Light of Creation, an immersive projection show staged inside the church in the evenings, is a commercial production sold at several times that price and is the main paid offering here. Concerts are held occasionally.

Guided tours of the Ringstrasse include the church from the outside and cost several times any of this. The church is on the Ring at Schottentor, on the U2 underground line and several trams, in the university quarter, so it is easy to reach and easy to combine with the Rathaus and the Burgtheater. Entry to the nave is through a side door on the north when the main west doors are closed, which is most of the time outside services.

Visiting Votivkirche: what to see

In February 1853 a Hungarian nationalist stabbed the young Franz Joseph in the neck on the city bastion; the blade was turned by the stiff gold-embroidered collar of his uniform, and the emperor survived. His brother Maximilian, later the doomed emperor of Mexico, launched a public subscription for a church of thanksgiving, and Heinrich von Ferstel, aged twenty-six, won the competition. Built between 1856 and 1879, the Votivkirche is one of the purest neo-Gothic buildings in Europe, French cathedral Gothic reproduced in pale sandstone with twin openwork spires 99 metres high.

It was the first of the great Ringstrasse buildings and set the tone for the rest. War damage and decades of stone decay meant a restoration that ran for half a century, and parts of the exterior have only recently come out of scaffolding. The stained glass was largely destroyed in the war and replaced from the 1950s onwards, which is why the colours in the nave are noticeably brighter than the stone. The Antwerp Altar in the tower museum, a carved and painted retable of 1460, was bought for the church in the nineteenth century and is the oldest object in the building.

Votivkirche opening hours and the best time to go

Open Tuesday to Sunday with a break around the middle of the day and closure on Mondays; hours are shorter in winter. The church is not heated. Services are held on Sunday mornings and visitors are welcome. The projection show runs in the evenings for limited seasons and is ticketed by a promoter. The spires are best photographed from the small park on the south side, and the western front takes the afternoon light.

Dress modestly. Photography without flash is allowed. Allow half an hour, longer with the museum. The university's main building and the Sigmund Freud Museum are both within ten minutes, and the Ring trams stop at the door. The Sigmund Freud park in front is a student gathering place and the church is floodlit after dark.