Bergkirche (Eisenstadt)

The Bergkirche ("hill church") is a church in Eisenstadt, the capital of the state of Burgenland in Austria. The church (of Catholic denomination) was built in the early 18th century by Prince Paul Esterházy. Eisenstadt was the seat of the Esterházy family, and the church lies just short walk to the west of the family's main palace.

The Bergkirche is architecturally quite unusual and is built in two parts. The main section, the church proper, is approximately a square. The interior is in Baroque style; Humphreys and Bousfield call it "a trompe-l'œil fantasy in pinks and greys". The ceiling takes the form of a dome, which was painted in fresco in the late 18th century by J. W. Baumgartner.

A side chapel is dominated by a large marble sarcophagus, the tomb of the composer Joseph Haydn, who spent much of his career in Eisenstadt working for the Esterházys. The remains of most of Haydn's body have rested here since 1932; the skull was added (with due pomp and ceremony) only in 1954; for the reason for the disparity see Haydn's head.

The church still possesses its original organ, built in the 18th century by the Viennese maker Gottfried Malleck; the instrument has been restored to its original state, as it was when it was played by Haydn and Beethoven at the premieres of famous works (see below). The original console, however, is no longer used but resides now in the nearby Haydn Museum.

To the east of the main church is a kind of artificial mountain, the "Kalvarienberg" (Calvary Hill), which is filled with passages and grottoes, in which appear statuary depicting the 24 Stations of the Cross. The statues, which are "vividly, even garishly painted" (Jones 2009:51) were the work of Franciscan monks, working over 250 years ago. In historical times the Kalvarienberg was a destination for pilgrimages; according to Jones, in its time the Kalvarienberg "was regarded as the eighth wonder of the world." As in historical times, visitors climb up and down the little mountain and go within it, viewing the stations in succession.

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