Evolution and modernism of church architecture in Vienna

The study aims to perform an introductory historical insight into the architecture of the Roman Catholic churches in Vienna to follow the style evolution and form making during the change of epochs, particularly in the 20th century, and to reveal how architects interacted with their customers – churchmen. This article is an introduction to a series of articles revealing and illustrating the diversity of modern architecture in seemingly conservative and canon-bound religious architecture. We carried out field studies and photo fixation of over a hundred historical and modern churches in Vienna and overviewed scientific literature in this field, mainly authored by Austrian architects and art historians. We reviewed the main historical events that affected Vienna and the religious denominations in its territory. They led to significant changes in church architecture in terms of city development plans, architectural composition and form making, design of the exterior and interior, hence a great variety of visual patterns and new architectural identities. It was determined how and why modernism and its movements were reflected in Vienna sacral architecture. The study unveils how the relationship between church, society, art and architecture was built. It can be concluded that the Catholic Church in the modern era responds to social phenomena and, as a customer, considers the opinion of Glebova N.M., Klamer M. Evolution and modernism of church architecture in Vienna distinguished Austrian architects. As a result, sacred architecture flexibly alters its form to suit social needs.

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