Schottenkirche

The Schottenkirche (English: Scots Church) is a parish church in Vienna adjacent to the Schottenstift, which was established in the 12th century by Hiberno (Irish)-Scots Benedictine monks. During the Melker Reform, which began following the Council of Constance, Duke Albert V of Austria transferred it from Melk Abbey to German-speaking Benedictine monks in 1418. In 1958, the church was raised to the title of Basilica Minor.

The Schottenkirche is situated in the Freyung area of Vienna’s Innere Stadt.

History

During the Middle Ages, Irish missionaries from monasteries in Ireland and Scotland (Iro-Schotten, Hiberno-Scottish) played an important role in the spread of Christianity throughout Continental Europe. Saint Koloman of Stockerau (of Melk), who was slain near Vienna in 1012, is especially revered in Austria. Until 1663, the patron saint of Austria was this Irish monk of royal descent who was slain at Stockerau while on pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

Iro-Schotten Monasteries sprang built in the 11th and 12th centuries, designed solely for monks from monasteries in Ireland and the now-Scottish isles. The historic Scottish Monastery of St. Jacob in Ratisbon, erected approximately 1090 by Burgrave Otto of Ratisbon in Ratisbon, became the mother-house of a number of other Scots Monasteries, including Our Blessed Lady in Vienna, which was built in 1158.

Exterior

A fire in 1276 destroyed the original church, a three-aisled Romanesque pillar church with a single apse.

The current church on the site was severely damaged by an earthquake in 1443. Restorations were finished by 1449, but were subpar owing to a lack of funds, and on May 21, 1634, the roof fell in front of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor.

The fall of the tower in 1638, caused by a lightning strike, was used to entirely reconstruct the church in Baroque style. Carlo Antonio Carlone and Marco Spazzio, architects, worked on the rebuilding from 1638 to 1641. Andrea Allio the Old, Andrea Allio the Young, and Silvestro Carlone renovated the nave and west side from 1643 to 1648. As a result, the length of the church was lowered slightly, and the tower no longer sits immediately opposite the basilica.

The church was rebuilt after the Turkish assault. Because the baroque west tower was scarcely taller than the facade, its enlargement was frequently considered, but these designs were never realized. The choir tower was only consecrated in 1893.

Interior

The church is presently decorated in high-baroque style, with multiple chapels.Joachim von Sandrart donated a new altarpiece to the cathedral, which is now maintained in the prelates’ hall.

The high altar was created between 1883 and 1889 based on Heinrich Ferstel’s drawings, with Innsbruck glass mosaics by Michael Rieser.Julius Schmid (Austrian, 1854-1935) created the beautiful ceiling paintings.

Vienna, Austria