Votivkirche

This soaring neo-Gothic church near the university was built in thanks for the survival of Emperor Franz Joseph after an assassination attempt in 1853. Funded by public donation from across the empire, it was completed in 1879 with two openwork spires that rise almost a hundred metres over the Ringstrasse. Its pale limestone facade bristles with pinnacles and carved figures, and the bright interior holds a Renaissance tomb brought from an older church. The building anchors a leafy square between the old town and the ninth district.