Kirche am Steinhof
| Kirche am Steinhof | |
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_-_Kirche_am_Steinhof_(2).JPG)
Kirche am Steinhof, Vienna, Austria
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| Basic information | |
| Location | Vienna, Austria |
| Geographic coordinates | 48°12′38″N 16°16′44″E / 48.2105°N 16.2788°ECoordinates: 48°12′38″N 16°16′44″E / 48.2105°N 16.2788°E |
| Affiliation | Catholic Church |
| Ecclesiastical or organizational status | Oratory |
| Website | www |
| Architectural description | |
| Architect(s) | Otto Wagner |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Architectural style | Art Nouveau |
| Groundbreaking | 1903 |
| Completed | 1907 |
| Construction cost | 575,000 krone |
| Specifications | |
| Direction of façade | S |
| Capacity | 800 |
| Dome(s) | 1 |
| Materials | Carrara marble, copper |
Kirche am Steinhof, also called the Church of St. Leopold, is the Roman Catholic oratory of the Steinhof Psychiatric Hospital in Vienna, Austria. The building designed by Otto Wagner is considered one of the most important Art Nouveau churches in the world.
The church, situated 310 metres (1,020 ft) above sea level, dominates and forms part of the Steinhof Psychiatric Hospital; previous official title was Niederösterreichische Landes-Heil- und Pflegeanstalt für Nerven- und Geisteskranke 'Am Steinhof' (Lower Austrian State Healing and Care Institution for the Neurologically and Mentally Sick, 'Am Steinhof'). It is located on a hillside (the Baumgartnerhöhe) below the Galitzinberg in the 14th Vienna district, Penzing. It has a separate status as part of the surrounding hospital and does not form part of the Archdiocese of Vienna.
The church dedicated to Saint Leopold was built between 1903 and 1907 by the 63-year-old architect Otto Wagner, with mosaics and stained glass by Koloman Moser, and sculptural angels by Othmar Schimkowitz (1864–1947). The great majority of the other smaller details are the work of Otto Wagner himself. The statues on the two external towers represent Saint Leopold and Saint Severin (l. & r. respectively: they are the two patron saints of Lower Austria) and are the work of the Viennese sculptor Richard Luksch (1872–1936).
Unusually the church lies on a North-South axis, at the centre-top of the hospital complex. Otto Wagner incorporated numerous features specifically related to its function within an asylum: e.g. there are very few sharp edges, and most corners are rounded; almost no crosses are visible; the priest's area is potentially entirely separate from the patients'; access to the pulpit is only from the vestry; emergency exits are built into the side walls in case a patient needed to be speedily removed; continuously flowing water replaced holy water stoups at the entrance; there were separate entrances for male and female patients, since gender segregation was mandatory in mental institutions at the time; confessionals were more open than is customary. There were toilet facilities easily accessible within the church in case of patient need. Originally the pews were of different widths to accommodate different categories of patient: calm / restless / disturbed (the latter needing more space). The floor is raked as in a theatre though not as steeply; the fall from entrance to altar is approx. 26 centimetres (10 in): standing at the back the view to the altar is thus less obstructed.
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