Votivkirche
The Votivkirche in Vienna is one of the most spectacular sights ever built. It is considered as one of the most important neo-Gothic architectural sites in the world. Situated in Ringstraße in the district of Alsergrund, this magnificent structure is also close to the University of Vienna. It is considered to have quite a quaint history that is traced back from a knife-attack on the Emperor Franz Joseph by a hungarian nationalist named Janos Libenyi. The unseuccessful attack to the emperor eventually inspired his brother, Ferdinand Maximilian Joseph, to call upon his community for donations in helping to build a church on the site of the attack. Thus, the church was named Votivgabe which is a thank-you present to God for the rescue of the emperor. It now serves as a monument of patriotism and of devotion of the people to the Imperial House.
The Votivkirche is said to have the typical form of a Gothic cathedral where it has a façade with two slimline towers and three gabled portals in which the archivolts and a gallery sits above the portals, a central portal twice as wide as the side portals, a rose window which is crowned by the roof gable of the nave, buttresses, abutments and flying buttresses. Its interior is composed of a nave and two aisles, which are crossed by a transept.
The altar is the ultimate eye-catcher in this place. It has glided retable and superimposed ciborium. Artist Joseph Glasser apparently drew his inspiration from the examples of Italin Gothic, such as the Basilica of St. John Lateran and the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls which are both found in Rome.
Whether one is after a religious trip or mainly in the place for looking around, he will surely be amazed at this wonderful structure.
