Dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus this is the Herz Jesu Asylkirche. It stands within the Herz Jesu Heim in Salzburg’s Riedenburg district. This Roman Catholic church belongs to the Daughters of Christian Love of Saint Vincent de Paul. The church is under monument protection.
Let’s step back to 1877. Architect Friedrich von Schmidt designed this neo-Gothic church. Vinzenz Rauscher was the master builder. Archbishop Franz Albert Eder consecrated it on November 3 1878. The church underwent restoration in 1974.
Notice the Herz Jesu’s facade. It’s an unplastered stone block building. Plastered street tracts of the old people’s home flank it. The street front has slightly recessed side wings. A central risalit-like front indicates the two stories of the nave. Look for the pointed arch portal and three two-lane tracery windows. Above is a triangular gable with a facade tower.
Inside the Herz Jesu Asylkirche, the single-nave extends under a flat wooden ceiling. A cross-ribbed vaulted choir follows with a five-eighths closure. The nave sides feature two-lane tracery windows to side oratories on two floors. The pointed arch triumphal arch leads your eye to the triumphal arch wall. Josef Gold painted it in 1891. It depicts Saint Vincent de Paul, the Lamb of God, and Saint John Gabriel Perboyre. Karl Weiser created the stained glass in the choir windows in 1963.
Johann Ripper crafted the neo-Gothic altars. Sculptor Johann Piger created the figures. On the high altar, you’ll see the Heart of Jesus between Margareta Maria Alacoque and Theresia of Avila. In the broken gable is Michael with Francis of Sales and Vincent of Paul.
The left side altar holds figures of Maria Immaculata, Luise von Marillac, and Katharina Labouré. Saint Anne and angels appear in the broken gable. The right side altar presents the figures of Saints Joseph, Francis of Assisi, and Anthony of Padua. John the Baptist stands in the broken gable between Peter and Paul.
Johann Ripper also created the pulpit. The figure of Saint Paul by Piger stands on the sound cover. Opposite the pulpit, above the sacristy door is a neo-Gothic relief. It depicts the Birth of Christ in a neo-Gothic frame labeled I. E. Johann Piger created the Stations of the Cross reliefs in 1881.
Peter Schuh designed the people’s altar in 2004. Albert Mauracher built the first organ with six registers in 1889. Hans Mertel expanded the organ in 1935. It now has two manuals, 12 registers, and a pneumatic cone valve system. The Oberascher bell foundry cast the three bells in 1948. They are tuned to A, C, and D.
The Herz Jesu Heim, which incorporates the Herz Jesu Asylkirche, has a rich history too. In 1765, Franz Fuchs, a merchant from Prague, acquired the land. Anton Willibald Graf Waldburg-Wolfegg acquired the grounds in 1789. He created gardens. He gifted his garden to the municipal poor fund in 1815.
The Merciful Sisters acquired the area in 1872. They erected a new building on the south side in 1874. It became a boarding house for elderly people. The Nazis confiscated the buildings in 1941. They were returned in 1948. Since 1998, the Herz Jesu Heim offers Christian-oriented childcare. In 2023, the senior residence closed. It now serves as a refugee shelter. The Herz Jesu Asylkirche and its surrounding complex represent a blend of architectural styles, religious dedication, and social service.