Schottenkirche

Schottenkirche Review

From 1758 to 1761 the noted Italian vedutiste (scene painter) Bernardo Bellotto did paintings of the Freyung square looking north toward the Schottenkirche; the pictures hang in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, and the similarity to the view you see more than two centuries later is arresting. In fact, a church has stood on the site of the Schottenkirche since 1177, when the monastery was established by Benedictine monks from Ireland—Scotia Minor, in Latin, hence the name "Scots Church." The present edifice dates from the mid-1600s, when it replaced its predecessor, which had collapsed because the architects of the time had built on weakened foundations. The interior, with its ornate ceiling and a decided surplus of cherubs and angels' faces, is in stark contrast to the plain exterior. The adjacent small Museum im Schottenstift includes the best of the monastery's artworks, including the celebrated Late Gothic high altar dating from about 1470. The winged altar is fascinating for its portrayal of the Holy Family in flight into Egypt—with the city of Vienna clearly identifiable in the background.