Hofkirche

A memorial

Ferdinand I built the church in 1553 as a memorial to his grandfather

The church was built in 1553 by Emperor Ferdinand I as a memorial to his grandfather Emperor Maximilian I. Maximilian's will had directed that he be buried in Wiener Neustadt, and his simple tomb remained there, so the Hofkirche serves as a cenotaph.

The cenotaph

The black marble cenotaph took more than 80 years to build

Maximilian's ornate black marble cenotaph occupies the center of the nave. The sarcophagus was completed in 1572, and the final embellishments, the kneeling emperor, the four virtues and the iron grille, were added in 1584. Its 24 reliefs are based on woodcuts by Albrecht Dürer.

The statues

28 bronze statues surround the cenotaph, among them King Arthur

The cenotaph is surrounded by 28 large bronze statues of ancestors, relatives and heroes, made between 1502 and 1555. Three are based on designs by Dürer. Statues of King Arthur and Godfrey of Bouillon are included because both men were said to be ancestors of Anna, wife of Ferdinand.

28large bronze statues around the cenotaph

Silver Chapel

The Silver Chapel holds an altar with three elephant tusks

A side chapel, the Silver Chapel, was consecrated in 1578. It contains a silver altar to Mary incorporating three elephant tusks and three hundred kilos of ebony. The Renaissance organ of 1560 is by Jörg Ebert of Ravensburg.

Andreas Hofer

The church holds the tomb of Andreas Hofer, Tyrol's national hero

The church also contains the tomb of Andreas Hofer, Tyrol's national hero. The high altar seen today was designed in 1755 by the Viennese court architect Nikolaus Pacassi, with bronze statues of Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Teresa of Ávila.