Piarist Church

The Piaristenkirche Maria Treu on Jodok-Fink-Platz in Vienna's 8th district Josefstadt is one of the city's finest late-baroque parish churches, consecrated in 1753. Lukas von Hildebrandt and Matthias Gerl began the design, Franz Mayrhofer completed it; the twin-tower facade was finished only in 1860. The church is famous for the dome fresco by Franz Anton Maulbertsch, painted in just eight months in 1752-53 - a key work of Austrian high baroque that made the 28-year-old artist's name, showing Mary with Piarist saints in a flickering, almost theatrically lit heaven. Today it is both a parish and a concert church; baroque-music evenings often happen here, letting you experience the Maulbertsch fresco in the acoustic setting it was painted for.