Bergkirche Rodaun

The Bergkirche Rodaun stands on a hill in Vienna's twenty-third district, Liesing, 267 metres above sea level. Dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, the baroque church looks out over the Liesingbach valley, right beside Schloss Rodaun. A 35-metre tower makes it visible from far away, and it is the clearest landmark of Rodaun. The area lies on the edge of Vienna, close to the Vienna Woods, and hiking paths start nearby.

An earlier church on this spot fell during the second Turkish siege of Vienna in 1683. Eleonore von Sauberskirchen, owner of the Rodaun estate at the time, commissioned the building to fulfil a wish from her mother's will. The Viennese master builder Johann Enzenhofer drew up the design, and the consecration followed on 23 June 1745. Rodaun belonged to Perchtoldsdorf's parish until 1783, when Emperor Joseph II's reforms gave it one of its own. Richard Merz added the present porch and reshaped the tower façade in 1905. The air raids on Vienna in the Second World War left it untouched, a rare outcome for buildings of that era.

Above the porch sits the coat of arms of Philipp Ritter von Rödderstahl, the castle lord who died in 1736. On the roof beside the tower stand two stone figures: Saint Catherine left, Saint Barbara right. Most of the baroque-era interior survives, with three altar paintings by Michelangelo Unterberger of South Tyrol. The high altar shows the baptism of Jesus, the side altars the Holy Family and Joachim, Anna and Mary. The church perches on a twelve-metre cliff, its lower walls the old fortifications of the medieval castle. Next door, the palace carries a Renaissance gate from 1578 and now houses the Santa Christiana school. The quiet square in front makes the spot popular for baptisms and weddings. Some walkers start or end Vienna's city hiking trail number 6 right here.