Rodaun is a baroque catholic church in 23. district of Vienna, Liesing. The church is dedicated to St. John the Baptist. It was destroyed in the second siege of Vienna in 1683, and soon was rebuilt in a simple form. The current church was constructed in the same place in the years 1739 to 1745 by Viennese architect Johann Enzenhofer(1687 to 1755) on an artificial plateau of abouttwelve meters high on powerful foundation piers. In the wake of Josephinism _the drastic reformations made by Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor (1765 -1790) in order to remodel the country in the form of the ideal enlightened state_ Rodaun became an independent parish church. It was administered previously by another church in Perchtoldsdorf , a town in the district of Mödling in lower Austria.
Fortunately the air raids on Vienna during the World War II didn’t cause any damage to the church, hence the artworks and decorations of the interior of the church have been preserved to a great extent. Of particular note are three large paintings inside the church created by the famous Austrian painter Michael Angelo Unterberger(1695-1758): the picture on the high altar portrays JesusChrist being baptized by St.John, the Baptist, as well as the two paintings on the left and right side walls, depict the Holy Family - Mary as a child with her father Joachim and her mother Anna.
The church building includes a tower with the total height of 35 meters. The two large stone statues on the roof next to the tower represent St. Catherine (left) and St. Barbara (right) . The coat of arms of the lord Philip, the Knight of Rödderstahl (died 1736), is placed above the choir window on front façade. The other artworks worth seeing are two beautiful sculptures in the church square: The bronze statue of the Christ, and the Pietà – the statue of the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus – which were dedicated to the church in 1881 and 1937 respectively. The church Rodaun is today a popular wedding venue.
