Dominican Church of St. Maria Rotunda

The Dominican Church (German: Dominikanerkirche), also known as the Church of St. Maria Rotunda, is an early Baroque parish church and minor basilica located in Vienna’s old center. It is the third church to be erected on the same location over the years.

History

The first church on this site was built in 1237 by newly arrived Dominicans on land provided by Duke Leopold VI between 1225 and 1226. The church was enlarged between 1240 and 1270, and a new choir was built in 1273. A series of fires between 1283 and 1302 forced the construction of a new Gothic church. The nave was expanded between 1458 and 1474. The nave of this church features five cross vaults and two aisles.

This church was extensively damaged during the Turkish army’s first siege of Vienna in 1529. The choir was dismantled, and part of the nave was removed. The structure degraded significantly in the years that followed.

The heightened self-awareness of the Counter-Reformation banned such a horrible scenario for a church. In 1631, the Dominicans began work of a new rectangular church with a dome designed by Jacopo Tencala, the architect of Prince Maximilian of Liechtenstein. The chief builders were Jacopo Spacio, Cipriano Biasino, and Antonio Canevale. They introduced Vienna to the Italian Baroque style. Emperor Ferdinand II laid the foundation stone on May 29, 1631. The structural work was finished in 1634. On October 1, 1634, the chapel was consecrated. The finishing touches were added in 1674. The church was elevated to the level of basilica minor in 1927 and given the name “Rosary Basilica ad S. Mariam Rotundam.”

Architecture

Facade

The grand façade was built in the Roman-Lombardic style, with towering columns supporting the cornice. Its design is inspired by early Baroque structures in Rome, which in turn are inspired by the facade of the Dominican church Santa Maria Novella in Florence. The statues over the entryway depict St. Catherine of Siena and Agnes of Montepulciano bowing at the feet of Our Lady, the patron saint of this church. There are niches on both sides of the doorway with sculptures of Ludwig Bertrand (on the left) and Saint Rose of Lima (on the right). A pediment tops a large rectangular gable with a dormer window on the front.

Interior

The church’s architectural arrangement includes a long central nave flanked by six side chapels, three on each side, a transept, a choir, and an apse. The nave’s proportions are roughly 25 meters long, 14 meters wide, and 22.10 meters high. The remarkable dome stands 23.80 meters tall. Each side chapel has its own gallery with a small balcony.

Frescoes

The lavish interior’s classical architecture and elaborate plaster decorations are stunning. The presence of semi-circular windows allows for soft lighting of the barrel-vaulted ceiling frescoes. Matthias Rauchmiller painted the ceiling paintings around 1675, showcasing a color and composition style influenced by Peter Paul Rubens. The artwork consists of 46 vignettes depicting the life of the Virgin Mary. Carpoforo Tencalla, a renowned artist, painted the apse encircling the main altar with two notable paintings illustrating Christian triumphs that are credited to the power of the Rosary. The Battle of Muret (1213) and the Battle of Lepanto (1571) are shown in these paintings. Tencala also put murals into the side chapels’ walls. The present fresco on the dome was completed in 1820, replacing an earlier piece by Nikolaus van Hoy from 1674. Franz Geyling completed the aforementioned fresco in 1836. The picture of Our Lady and Child is lit by the golden light of the Trinity, surrounded by angels in a kneeling attitude, in the artwork. An artist whose name is unknown designed the medallions found in the four supporting columns. These medallions depict three Dominican Order popes, Innocent V, Benedict XI, and Pius V, as well as St. Antony of Florence. The columns prominently display statues of the four first Doctors of the Church: Jerome, Gregory the Great, Augustine, and Ambrose. A skilled local artist made these magnificent pieces of art.

Side chapels

Each of the six chapels is devoted to a different saint, who is shown in the artwork above the altar. The altars are the result of small-scale crafts. The figures’ quality varies.

Chapel of St. Catherine of Siena : located adjacent to the pulpit. The artwork, attributed to François Roettiers (1685-1742), represents the saint’s Mythical marriage with Christ. The creator of the paintings on the side walls is the same.
Chapel of Thomas Aquinas : The paintings on the altarpiece and side walls of the Thomas Aquinas Chapel are by the Flemish painter Frans Luycx (1638 and 1649-1650).
Chapel of Saint Rose of Lima : the original altarpiece of this Dominican saint by an anonymous master (1671) was replaced in the second half of the 18th century by a Coronation of Our Lady
Chapel of Saint Anne (mother of Mary) : the altarpiece with St. Anna, St. John the Baptist and St. Barbara has a long time wrongly been ascribed to Tobias Pock
Chapel of St. Vincent Ferrer : . The magnificent paintings are again by François Roettiers. The altarpiece (1726) shows the saint bringing back to life a dead person. The angels with trumpets above the painting refer to the mission of this preacher of penitence. The high-quality bronzed statues of St. Jerome and Mary Magdalen were produced by the workshop of Johann-Georg Bendl. The gilded wrought-iron fencing of the chapel is the work of the monks Martin Eker and Raymund Schrob.
Chapel of St. Catherine of Alexandria : The altarpiece is by Tobias Pock, depicting realistically the martyrdom of the saint. The side walls were painted by Frans Leuyx

Vienna, Austria