Pfarre Gersthof - St. Leopold

Pfarre Gersthof - St. Leopold is a Roman Catholic parish church in Gersthof, Vienna’s eighteenth district, Währing. Saint Leopold is the patron honoured by this parish church. Richard Jordan designed the free-standing neo-Gothic building, while master builder Josef Schmalzhofer supervised construction. Its square tower rises beside the southern entrance. A symmetrical hall church places the nave between lower side aisles and a multi-sided choir. The eastern annex contains the Easter Chapel. Jordan also designed the high altar, whose figures represent Saint Leopold and four other saints. Coloured windows show saints throughout the upper interior. The church also contains a Maria-Lourdes altar, side altars, and Ferdinand Stuflesser’s sculpture of Saint Cecilia. Dreher & Flamm built the organ in 1933.

Alfred Crepaz created the Noli me tangere mosaic in 1980, adding a distinct work to the historic interior. A Gröden nativity scene dates from the late nineteenth century. The parish began in 1784, before construction of the present church started in 1887 on a former cemetery site. Albert Dub donated the land, and Albert-Dub-Park commemorates his contribution. The church was consecrated in 1891 and received full parish rights in 1899. Heinrich Maier’s deacon ordination here links the church with Vienna’s wartime resistance history. A headless statue commemorates Maier inside the church. Restoration shaped the interior in 1963 and 1980, while the exterior was restored in 1979. The parish belongs to the Archdiocese of Vienna. The parish also participates in Vienna’s Long Night of Churches and offers activities for families and children.