Vienna - the Votivkirche
1855–1879
The Votivkirche was erected between 1855 and 1879 on the initiative of Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian to designs by Heinrich von Ferstel. The church was intended to commemorate the narrow escape of Emperor Franz Joseph in the attempt on his life made by Libényi in 1853. The neo-Gothic structure was strongly influenced by the model of the French Gothic cathedrals. It was begun shortly before the expansion of the city and the levelling of the city walls and later integrated into the Ringstrasse ensemble.
