The building of the New Cathedral (Germ. Neuer Dom), also known as the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (Maria-Empfängnis-Dom) in Linz

Linz

Linz is the third-largest city of Austria and capital of the state of Upper Austria . It is located in the north centre of Austria, approximately south of the Czech border, on both sides of the river Danube. The population of the city is , and that of the Greater Linz conurbation is about...

 was begun in 1855 by Bishop Franz Joseph Rudigier. The first stone was laid in 1862, and in 1924 Bishop Johannes Maria Gföllner consecrated the finished building as the Cathedral of the Virgin Mary (Mariendom). The plans, drawn by the Master Builder of the Archdiocese of Cologne, Vincenz Statz, were made in the French high gothic style.

With 20,000 seats, the cathedral is the largest, but not the highest, church in Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

. The originally-planned, higher spire was not approved, because in Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...

 at the time, no building was allowed to be taller than the South Tower of the St. Stephen's Cathedral

Stephansdom

St. Stephen's Cathedral is the mother church of the Archdiocese of Vienna and the seat of the Archbishop of Vienna, Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, OP...

 in Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

. At 135 m, the New Cathedral is two meters shorter than the Viennese cathedral.

Particularly noteworthy are the cathedral's stained-glass windows. The most famous is the Linz Window, which depicts the history of Linz. The windows also contain portraits of the various sponsors of the church's construction. During the Second World War some windows, particularly in the southern part of the cathedral, have been damaged. Instead of restoring the original windows, they have been replaced with windows displaying modern art.
Also noteworthy is the nativity scene in the church burial vault, with its figures made by S. Osterrieder, and the display of the regalia of Bishop Rudigier.

Politics

In October 2006 the Catholic Church added a plaquet to the commemorative wood cut for Engelbert Dollfuß at the New Cathedral, which caused excitement in the ÖVP

OVP

OVP is a three-letter abbreviation that may refer to:*The Office of the Vice President of the United States*The Office of the Vice President of the Philippines*OVP , a light sub-machine gun developed in Italy...

. In the plaque the church, by resolution of the Austrian Conference of Catholic Bishops, distances itself from the original cut and proclaims the future abstention from party politics. Dollfuß as acting Chancellor of Austria

Chancellor

Chancellor is the title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the Cancellarii of Roman courts of justice—ushers who sat at the cancelli or lattice work screens of a basilica or law court, which separated the judge and counsel from the...

 in 1933 eliminated the parliament over formal irregularities. This caused the Austrian Civil War

Austrian Civil War

The Austrian Civil War , also known as the February Uprising , is a term sometimes used for a few days of skirmishes between socialist and conservative-fascist forces between 12 February and 16 February 1934, in Austria...

 and led to a dictatorship

Austrofascism

Austrofascism is a term which is frequently used by historians to describe the authoritarian rule installed in Austria with the May Constitution of 1934, which ceased with the forcible incorporation of the newly-founded Federal State of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938...

.

External links

• Homepage Mariendom