Wien, 6. Bezirk, Mariahilferkirche, la chiesa del distretto 6 della città, la iglesia del barrio 6 (Mariahilf) de la ciudad, l'église de l'arrondissement 6 de la citè, the church of the 6. district of Vienna (Mariahilferstraße/Barnabitengasse), baroque

(Further pictures you can see by clicking on the link at the ende of page!)

The history of the sanctuary and parish Mariahilf

The beginnings of Mariahilf

Since the cemetery of Hofpfarre (Court Parish) St. Michael - it was too close to the Imperial Palace - in 1508 had to be abandoned due to an imperial command, a new location outside the city walls and the glacis - served as a military parade and defense area - was searched. Only in 1656 could a vineyard in Ried "Schoeff" at the black cross in front of the Widmertor - the present castle gate - to be purchased for the new cemetery.

This Ried "Schoeff" stretched from Widmertor on the slopes of the left bank of Vienna (very small river Wienfluss) to Penzing. Here flourished a famous and popular type of wine, "the Gumpendorfer".

The first cemetery chapel

Picture of grace. At the highest point of this hill a small wooden cemetery chapel was built, that together with the cemetery on 19 April in 1660 was consecrated by Bishop Philipp Friedrich von Breuner. The only decoration of this humble chapel was that of the Barnabitenmönch (monch of the Barnabites) Don Celestine Joanelli - see today's Joanelligasse - donated miraculous image "Mariahülf ", which soon became the destination of many pilgrims from Vienna and the surrounding area.

This representation of Mary is a replica of the miraculous image on Mariahilferberg near Passau, which again is a copy of the miraculous image in the parish church at Innsbruck. All three images, the story tells of miraculous powers. In many "miracle books" - partly till today in Mariahilfer library preserved - is reported about miraculous healings.

The pilgrimages became more and more intense and so the Barnabites were forced to build in the years 1668 and 1669 a stone chapel, including residential buildings for the priests.

In the second Turkish siege of Vienna in 1683, the buildings were destroyed, but the picture of grace in time could be brought to safety by the then sexton Eduard Lampel within the city walls.

The new church

Due to popular demand for the miraculous image, the many pilgrimages and the non-successful floor plan of the building was from 1711 according to the plans of Franziskus Jänckl - a student and construction supervisor of Lukas von Hildebrandt - the church, using part of the existing foundation walls, in its present form built. 1714 choral parts were rebuilt and the nave erected, in 1715 were the towers of the west front - facing the present Mariahilferstraße - ready in shell (2nd construction periode). In the 3rd construction periode 1721-1726 the towers were covered with copper and decorated the west facade with statues and reliefs of J. Jacob and Ignatius Gunst.

A drawing of Salamon Kleiner from 1724 shows the general impression at that time.

Church 1724

Pilgrimages to the holy image of Mariahilf

To get a feel for the intensity of the pilgrimage tradition at this time, some numbers from 1733: 97 692 people received the Holy Communion, 20,000 Holy Masses were celebrated this year in Mariahilf.

The Empress Maria Theresa made a pilgrimage to Mariahilf to ask Our Lady for her intercession. The Chronicle reported that, during the three Masses, those she here attended sequentially, she a quarter hour lying on the ground here prayed and wept.

These and other notable historical documentations can be found until the middle of the 19th Century in the "Akta" of the parish Mariahilf, which can be looked-up in our library.

In the years 1805, 1809 and 1813 during the Napoleonic war took place enormous state processions with up to 90,000 participants to Mariahilf.

Many Viennese suburb and suburban communities pilgrimaged here every year for centuries to pray, to take their concerns to Mary and to obtain a plenary indulgence, under certain specified conditions. Some parishes in Vienna and Lower Austria come even today annually to the miraculous image "pilgrimaging".

In the years 1760 - 100th anniversary, 1860 - 200th anniversary of the mounting of the miraculous image, 1910 - 250 anniversary celebration and 1960 to the 300th recurrence of this event took place festivities lasting for days, the, as the chronicle reported, especially in the years 1760 and 1860 not only religious contents had but also secular celebrations were.

Ultimately led all these conditions and events to the consequence that until now the 6th District of Vienna is called Mariahilf and probably the largest shopping street in Vienna Mariahilferstraße.

The religious communities of Mariahilf

The Barnabitenorden (Barnabite Order) oversaw the parish, which in the meantime from 1722 was also the provost until 1920. From 1920-1923 diocesan priests worked here until church and parsonage were transferred to the Order of Salvatorianer. These were active here until 1997 and had to give up for lack of personnel and financial reasons this location. Subsequently transferred the Archdiocese of Vienna to the Polish Order of Michaelites the care of the parish and pilgrimage church.

Architectural and historic preservation measures in recent decades:

In 1960, on the occasion of the 300 year celebrations the partly wooden marble altars - this was quite usual in the Baroque period for cost reasons - new marbled , that is newly painted. In 1950/55 and 1982, the exterior facades of the church were renovated and restored, from 1986 to 1988 the interior of the church was also renovated and restored the frescoes on the ceilings and walls. Solid plaster damage, moister penetration of the masonry and the increasing pollution from the environment made in 2003 a renewed facade repair at the moment on the Western Front and the two church towers, including the statues and reliefs, urgently required to prevent an even greater extent of damage.

Another construction was 2008-2010, being renovated the remaining facade surfaces of the church (both long sides and south side) including sacristy tower and at the parsonage the roadside west facade and the narrow, southern front facing the courtyard. At the parsonage also an extensive roof renovation was necessary.

Church tower 2, church tower 1 Church Renovation 2010

The historic bell of the Mariahilferkirche - The Schuster Michel

Schuster Michel

After the shoemaker Johann Michael Sailler yet in the previous year had donated a large bell, he gave 1720 again fl 4,000 for a larger bell. This was in the imperial Arsenal by the imperial stucco founder Michael Leopold Heylil casted into tin bronze and weighed 4445 kg with a diameter of 193 cm. On the spot took, took Gottfried Bessel, abbot of Göttweig (Lower Austria), the consecration to the "Blessed Virgin Helper" (ad impositum phenomenon BV Auxiliatricis). It is designed with typical squat baroque style in heavy rib with wide flaring, heavy blow ring carried out and it resounds with massive, very dark basic tone a.

Artistic design of the surface: at the neck (upper edge), a narrow flower frieze, below it then again, broad, by decorative strips edged frieze with rose garlands, enclosed by double trimming elements, the inscription in Roman capitals:

GOSS ME IN LEOPOLD HALIL KAYSERLICHER STVCKGIESSER Wienn 1720 WIGT 7939 PF I AM TO HONOR GOD AND HUMAN SERVICES MANAGEMENT AND READY WHEN I AM (shall) the dead THE TOLL !

The sheath of the bells adorn four cartridges with inscriptions and images: the picture of grace Mariahilf, the Apostle Paul with the sword icon and the founders of the Regular Clerics of the St. Apostle Paul, farther a with an arrow pierced shoe, probably the arms of the founder.

The fourth cartridge contains the chronogram: AVS Dear Rich h MICaeLI Saller generosity Am I AVCH here gehenCket ("from dear rich bounty of the Lord Michael Sailer I 'm also here gehäncket (suspended)"), the capital letters of this inscription constitute the latin number sequence VLIICMICLILLIIIIICVCIC, giving as a result the year 1720.

Schuster Michel

That such a large bell was not so easy to ring by hand and in the course of time were necessary stabilization measures in the belfry, shows an entry in the parish chronicle of 1903: It...."was for the Great Bell "Schuster Michel" of the tower instead of the much more expensive wood helmet an iron belfry .....manufactured, by which the dangers at ringing should be eliminated because now only two men were required to ring the bell and also the vibrations of the whole tower are resolved. "Meant are probably iron bracings and reinforcements in the bell chamber, as the wooden belfry itself continued to remain preserved.

The replacement of the old wooden yoke through a Glockenjoches (bell yoke) of steel followed 1930. When the electrification took place is not documented.

The legend of the "miserly Schuster Michel" was created 1726-1731 and initially referred to a 1719 by the same donor donated, smaller Michael bell. Its defects, which coincided in terms of time with illness and death of the donor, and the in 1731 necessary recast gave this bell a mysterious reputation. As of 1731, hence the name "Michel Schuster" was transferred to the in 1720 also by Michael Sailler donated larger bell. The Michael Bell, however, was later referred to as "Saller-bell" or "Saillerin (Lady Sailler)".

Schuster Michel Schuster Michel

In the heyday (1st half of the 19th century) the Mariahilferkirche was equipped with a total of 8 bells. A detailed Läutordnung (toll regime) already should give the believers acoustically the time and type of worship. The Schuster Michel was rung on the eve before Sundays and public holidays. In the two world wars but in each case bells had to be delivered as war material. 1930 three new bells were still re-purchased, but 1941 the next war took its toll. It remained in the Mariahilferkirche only the historically valuable bell from 1720.

2011: New Patterns for Schuster Michel

Probably 1930, at the Schuster Michel the original wooden yoke was replaced by a steel yoke. These steel suspension proved now but not as convenient, because the ringing of the bell had to be done in a very high Läutwinkel (toll angle). Furthermore, the iron clapper from 1908 was too hard and proportioned wrong and could have hurt the bell. Since the antiquated electric drive, too, was very susceptible to disturbance, the Schuster Michel since Easter 2011 had to be silent.

In order to conserve the Schuster Michel as long as possible, the parish Mariahilf decided to had done some changes. With the renovation work the company Schauer und Sachs from Salzburg was commissioned: The steel yoke was again exchanged with an oak one (approximately 350 kg). As a result, the Läutwinkel (toll angle) could be reduced by 15%. A new round bale clapper, 180 kg, of special steel RSK 100, cast of the company Rosswag in Germany, was installed.

During a small devotion on 25 October 2011, the new clapper was blessed by Father Casimir, before it acceded to the applause of a small crowd of onlookers to the breezy trip to the height on its new location. The unilateral electrical drive has been replaced by an electronic drive with two motors. The screw connections at the belfry were tightened. So the Schuster Michel after a half year break on 28th October 2011 finally could resound again .

The costs for these bell remediations amount to € 20,218.38. Of which bears the parish Mariahilf € 6,803.01. The Federal Monuments Office has a grant of € 5.000, - promised, the rest is pumped in from the Archdiocese of Vienna .

Photos of the installation can be found here: in the photo gallery.

www.pfarremariahilf.at/mariahilf/index.php?mid=Kultur&amp....

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