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The Karlskirche (English: Charles Church) is a Baroque church in the Karlsplatz in Vienna, Austria. The church is dedicated to Charles Borromeo, a leading figure of the Counter-Reformation.Brook 2012, pp. 146–147. The church is located on the border of Wieden and the Innere Stadt, the city centre.
As a master 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 two flanking Column, crafted by Lorenzo Mattielli, were inspired by Trajan's Column in Rome. Next to those, two tower pavilions extend out and show the influence of the Roman baroque (Bernini and Borromini). Above the entrance, a dome rises up above a high drum, which the younger J.E. Fischer shortened and partly altered.
Adjacent to the church was the Spitaler Gottesacker cemetery. Composer Antonio Vivaldi was buried there on July 28, 1741, but his grave has been lost over time. The church hosts regular Vivaldi concerts in his honour.
Hedy Lamarr, then aged 19, married Friedrich Mandl, aged 32, a businessman and Austrofascist, in the chapel of the church on 10 August 1933. With over 200 prominent guests attending, Lamarr wore "a black-and-white print dress" and carried "a bouquet of white orchids."The book "Beautiful", p. 39, by Stephen Michael Shearer.
Since the restoration of Karlsplatz as an architectural ensemble in the late 1980s, the church has garnered fame because of its dome and its two flanking columns of , as well as its role as an architectural counterweight to the buildings of the Musikverein and of the Vienna University of Technology. The church is cared for by the Knights of the Cross with the Red Star, and has long been the parish church and seat of the Catholic student ministry of the Vienna University of Technology.
This program continues in the interior as well, above all in the dome fresco by Johann Michael Rottmayr of Salzburg and Gaetano Fanti, which displays an intercession of Charles Borromeo, supported by the Virgin Mary. Surrounding this scene are the cardinal virtues. The frescos in a number of side chapels are attributed to Daniel Gran.
The high altarpiece portraying the ascension of the saint was conceptualized by the elder Fischer and executed by Ferdinand Maxmilian Brokoff. The altar paintings in the side chapels are by various artists, including Daniel Gran, Sebastiano Ricci, Martino Altomonte and Jakob van Schuppen. A wooden statue of St. Anthony by Josef Josephu is also on display.
As strong effect emanates from the directing of light and architectural grouping, in particular the arch openings of the main axis. The color scheme is characterized by marble with sparring and conscious use of gold leaf. The large round glass window high above the main altar with the Hebrew Tetragrammaton/Yahweh symbolizes God's omnipotence and simultaneously, through its warm yellow tone, God's love. Below is a representation of Apotheosis of Saint Charles Borromeo.
Next to the structures at Schönbrunn Palace, which maintain this form but are more fragmented, the church is Fischer's greatest work. It is also an expression of the Austrian joie de vivre stemming from the victorious end of the Turkish Wars.
==Gallery==
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