The Kirche am Steinhof (aka Kirche St. Leopold) sits high atop the Baumgartner Höhe at the city outskirts. Locals jokingly refer to this splendid site as “Limoniberg,” or Mount Lemon, on account of the church’s glistening gilded dome that beckons from afar.

This art nouveau masterpiece was built by architect Otto Wagner from 1903–07 on the grounds of Vienna’s Steinhof psychiatric hospital. Intended for the use of patients, many of the church’s salient design features fascinatingly address the special concern for hygiene prevalent at the time.

The church interior was entirely clad in tiles to allow for easy cleaning; the pews were given rounded edges to minimize injuries; and holy water dispensed by a drip rather than the traditional stoup, for fear of infection. Since hospital wards had been previously segregated by sex, separate entries were provided for men and women. Finally, numerous emergency exits, lavatories and an on-premise examination room are distinct features of this institutional church.

The copious organic ornamentation of the Kirche am Steinhof encapsulates the quintessential spirit of the Jugendstil, while Otto Wagner’s open floor plan foreshadows the onset of modernism. You won’t want to miss the beautiful stained glass windows and copious mosaics by artist Koloman Moser, one of the founders of the Vienna Secession.