University Church
just a few steps from Mozart´s birth-house
Nestling among Mozart’s birthplace and the Salzburg Festival Theatre, the University Church, one of our most famous baroque churches, is situated. This masterpiece by Fischer von Erlach counts as one of the most significant sacral constructions in Europe. The University Church was sanctified in 1707, only 49 years before Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in the building right opposite the church.
Since 2006 the Salzburger Konzertgesellschaft is presenting Mozart’s last opus, his Requiem, in this splendid basilica. Due to the immediate vicinity of Mozart’s birthplace to the church the audience experiences the mysticism of birth and death, living and passing away.
Salzburg’s own university church, to be built on the grounds of the former "Frauen Garten", was approved by Archbishop Paris Lodron in 1623, but construction didn’t begin until the late 17th century, 50 years after Paris Lodron’s death, under the direction of Archbishop Johann Ernst von Thun. The church was completed in 1707 and dedicated to the Virgin Maria. Until the University Church was built, the Große Aula of the university (next to the house chapel "Saecellum") served not only as a theatre but also as a provisional sacral hall for the university.
Johann Fischer von Erlach was chosen to be the architect of the church. Today the church is, next to the Salzburg cathedral, the most important ecclesiastical architecture in Salzburg, a main work of the baroque architect Erlach, and a church of international importance. In order for the visitor to experience the overall structure of the church and his architecture, Erlach kept the design of the inner detailed ornamentation to a minimum, using white walls devoid of murals. The church became a prototype for many late-baroque churches in southern Germany.
The University Church is built in three main parts: the resplendent façade in the east, the nave, and the terraced annexes in the west. The church towers do not have typical baroque cupolas. Instead, they resolve into the sky with slender balustrades crowned with allegorical figures. The figures on the left (to the south) represent the four archangels (Michael, Gabriel, Raffael and Uriel), and on the right (to the north) the four Roman church fathers (Augustinus, Ambrosius, Hieronymus and Gregory the Great). The façade itself is adorned with angels while the focus of the church is the figure of the Virgin Mary depicted on a crescent moon. All of the figures were carved by Bernhard Michael Mandl.
The large windows of the façade help to draw one’s eye outwards and break up the heaviness of the front-façade. The delicate window ornamentation was designed by Diego Francisco Carlone and Paolo d´Allio who both worked closely with Fischer von Erlach to design the decoration of the inner walls.
The inner church is in a traditional cruciform shape. Each of the four wings has a high barrel vault. They meet in the center where a dome rises upwards, supported by giant pilasters. Four oval chapels, each with their own small altar, are integrated into the church architecture, and along with the main altar, characterize the interior of the church. The four chapels are dedicated to the four academic saints: Thomas Aquinas (theology), Ivo (jurisprudence), Luke (medicine) and Catherine (philosophy).
The left and right transept altars have altarpieces by Johann Michael Rottmayr.
The main altar, designed by Father Bernard Stuart and executed by Josef Anton Pfaffinger, reaches upwards with stucco clouds and figures. The altar takes the motives from the church and expands upon them. Allegorical figures of music, poetry, painting and architecture, as well as the four standard academic subjects, stand in niches at either side of the altar. Figures of love and hope hover above the altar, inspired by the figure of belief. Seven archangels stand at the height of the cornices. Mary Immaculate appears, wreathed by clouds and celestial rays of light, as the focal point of the choir.
During the time of Napoleon and his French troops´ occupation, the church conspicuously served as a warehouse for hay. After the dissolution of the university, it became a garrison church at the time of the monarchy. In 1922, Hugo von Hofmannsthal´s "Große Salzburger Welttheater" was first performed in the church as part of the Salzburg Festival. The church became part of the university again in 1964 and has been used regularly as a concert venue for the Salzburg Festival since the 1990´s.