Karlskirche

== History ==
In 1713, one year after the last great [[Bubonic plague|plague]] [[epidemic]], [[Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor]], pledged to build a church for his namesake patron saint, [[Charles Borromeo]], who was revered as a healer for plague sufferers. An [[architectural competition]] was announced, in which [[Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach]] prevailed over, among others, [[Ferdinando Galli-Bibiena]] and [[Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt]]. Construction began in 1716 under the supervision of [[Anton Erhard Martinelli]]. After J.B. Fischer's death in 1723, his son, [[Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach]], completed the construction in 1737 using partially altered plans. The church originally possessed a direct line of sight to the [[Hofburg]] and was also, until 1918, the imperial patron parish church.

As a creator of historic architecture, the elder Fischer von Erlach united the most diverse of elements. The façade in the centre, which leads to the porch, corresponds to a [[Greek temple]] [[portico]]. The neighboring two columns, crafted by [[Lorenzo Mattielli]], found a model in [[Trajan's Column]] in [[Rome]]. Next to those, two tower pavilions extend out and show the influence of the Roman baroque ([[Gian Lorenzo Bernini|Bernini]] and [[Francesco Borromini|Borromini]]). Above the entrance, a [[dome]] rises up above a high drum, which the younger [[Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach|J.E. Fischer]] shortened and partly altered.

Next to the Church was the ''Spitaler Gottesacker''. The composer [[Antonio Vivaldi]] died in Vienna and was buried there on July 28, 1741, but his tomb has been lost over time. The church hosts regular Vivaldi concerts in his honour.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.concert-vienna.info//vivaldi.html|title=Concerts in Vienna|website=www.concert-vienna.info|access-date=August 13, 2019}}</ref>

Hedwig Kiesler (age 19), later American movie actress and inventor [[Hedy Lamarr]], married [[Friedrich Mandl]] (age 32), businessman and Austrofascist, in the tiny chapel of this elaborate church on 10 August 1933. With over 200 prominent guests attending, Kiesler wore "a black-and-white print dress" and carried "a bouquet of white orchids."<ref>The book "Beautiful", p. 39, by Stephen Michael Shearer.</ref>

Since Karlsplatz was restored as an ensemble in the late 1980s, the church has garnered fame because of its dome and its two flanking columns of [[bas-relief]]s, as well as its role as an architectural counterweight to the buildings of the [[Musikverein, Vienna|Musikverein]] and of the [[Vienna University of Technology]]. The church is cared for by a religious order, [[Knights of the Cross with the Red Star|the Knights of the Cross with the Red Star]],  and has long been the [[parish church]] as well as the seat of the Catholic student ministry of the Vienna University of Technology.