Votivkirche
The story behind the Votivkirche begins with an attempted assassination of Emperor Franz Joseph on 18 February 1853, when the Hungarian nationalist János Libényi stabbed him in the collar. The wound was deflected by the Emperor’s stiff, jeweled collar, and Dr. Joseph Ettenreich aided him as Count Maximilian Karl Lamoral O’Donnell von Tyrconnell subdued the attacker until police arrived. After Libényi’s execution, Franz Joseph ordered humane treatment—he granted the assassin’s mother a small pension. In response, Franz Joseph’s brother, Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, inaugurated a fundraising campaign across the empire to build a church of gratitude. The project is associated with Heinrich von Ferstel and began in 1853, using Wöllersdorf limestone, and it reached a height of 99 meters. …
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