St. Johann Nepomuk Vienna
Destroyed and Restored, and a Pleasure to Visit
Welcome to the fascinating and historically significant St. Johann Nepomuk Vienna, an attractive Catholic Church located at Nepomukgasse 1, beside the Praterstraße in the second district of the city of Vienna. Visiting the church is well worth the trip and is accessed quickly and easily via public transportation.
The St. Johann Nepomuk Vienna was built between 1736 and 1737 and was consecrated in 1739 as the private and burial chapel of Matthäus Lydl von Schwanau, a Hofkriegsrat (senior war servant) of Prince Eugen von Savoyen. His reason for creating the chapel was he didn't want to make the daily long-distance walk to the nearest church in Währing. Ultimately, he would donate the chapel to the entire village of Gersthof.
In 1784, it became known as the Johannes Nepomuk Chapel, the parish church of Gersthof. However, in 1899 the parish status was lost to the new Gersthof church, which was built in 1891. On March 15th, 1945, the Sankt Johann Nepomuk church was severely damaged due to heavy bombing during the Second World War. The belfry nearly collapsed due to the bombs, and the original Lugy-organ was completely destroyed. The Church was later restored by 1951, and the chapel itself was restored between 1975 and 1979, and again in 1993.
While in the area, it is also worthwhile to take a walk through the neighborhood. The architecture is lovely. There are beautiful parks, such as Wertheimstein Park and Bezirksmuseum Innere Stadt. But more than anything, the surrounding upper-class residential area is fascinating, with quite an interesting array of villas in different styles.
