Church And Monastery

Camillo Sitte, who was also a gifted painter, designed the whole interior of the church including the outstanding altar painting showing St Mary’s protection of Armenia. A particular remarkable piece is the side altar dedicated to St Gregory the Illuminator, designed by Theophil von Hansen, the architect of the Austrian Houses of Parliament in Vienna.

Another special feature is the Loretto-Chapel whose orientation towards the east was taken over from the old Capucine monastery. In this chapel there is the baroque miraculous picture “Mary with the Rose”. Fortunately the image was rescued intact from the perils of the Turkish siege of Vienna in 1683.

After restoration in 2011 the entire church now shines to its original splendor.

Situated in the ground floor of the monastery’s western wing, the Refectory was built 1837 according to the plans of the well reputed architect Joseph Kornhäusel. The most impressive element in the refectory is the monumental wall painting by Ludwig Ferdinand Schnorr von Carolsfeld “The Feeding of the Five Thousand”.