Wender·Vista
Karlskirche
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileAustria
on Karlsplatz, just south of Vienna's Ringstrasse

Karlskirche

— — a dome held up between two columns.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“A baroque votive church on the south side of Vienna's Karlsplatz, vowed by Emperor Charles VI in 1713 after the last plague had passed. Fischer von Erlach won the design competition; the dome rose to seventy-two metres, and the two free-standing columns, modelled on Trajan's, frame the front as if the building were already a monument to itself. The reflecting pool in front was added in 1972 with the Henry Moore sculpture.

from the studio
Karlskirche
— bring it home

Karlskirche, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Karlskirche

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

The Karlskirche, or Church of St. Charles Borromeo, stands on the south side of Karlsplatz in Vienna's fourth district, Wieden. Emperor Charles VI vowed the church in 1713 at the end of the last great plague outbreak in the city, pledging it to the canonised plague-saint Charles Borromeo. The design competition was won by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach in 1715; construction began the following year and was completed by his son Joseph Emanuel in 1737. The copper dome rises to about 72 metres above the floor.

— informed by Wikipedia
— the stone

The facade is the building's argument. A classical portico borrowed from a Greek temple sits between two free-standing columns, each about 33 metres high, modelled on Trajan's Column in Rome and carved with spiral reliefs of scenes from the life of Charles Borromeo. Above them rises an oval drum and the great copper dome, frescoed inside by Johann Michael Rottmayr between 1725 and 1730. The pairing of pagan columns, Roman dome, and Greek portico made the church a manifesto for Austrian baroque ambition under Charles VI.

— the visit

The church is open daily for visitors outside service hours; a paid admission supports the long restoration of the Rottmayr frescoes, and includes a scaffold-lift to a viewing platform inside the dome where the ceiling can be seen from a few metres away. The reflecting pool in front of the church, with Henry Moore's Hill Arches sculpture, was added during a 1972 redesign of Karlsplatz. The nearest U-Bahn stop is Karlsplatz, on lines U1, U2, and U4, a few minutes' walk from the Naschmarkt and the Wien Museum.

— where
Austria · Wieden, Vienna
— position
48.1983° N · 16.3719° E
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Karlskirche — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

The Karlskirche stands on the south side of Karlsplatz in Vienna's fourth district, Wieden, a few minutes' walk from the Ringstrasse, the Naschmarkt, and the Vienna State Opera.

Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach won the design competition in 1715. He died in 1723 and his son Joseph Emanuel completed the church in 1737, working largely to the original drawings.

Emperor Charles VI vowed the church in 1713 after the last great plague outbreak in Vienna. He dedicated it to Charles Borromeo, the sixteenth-century archbishop of Milan who became the patron saint of plague sufferers.

Two free-standing columns flank the portico, each about 33 metres high. They are modelled on Trajan's Column in Rome and carved with spiral reliefs of scenes from the life of Charles Borromeo.

Yes. A scaffold-lift erected during the long Rottmayr-fresco restoration carries visitors up inside the dome to a platform where the ceiling can be viewed from a few metres away. The lift is included with admission.

The dome interior was frescoed by Johann Michael Rottmayr between 1725 and 1730. The composition shows the apotheosis of Charles Borromeo and the intercession of the Virgin.

— about the piece in your home

It has carried well for customers with Vienna ties and for architects and music students who knew the church in their study years. A Medium or Large suits a study or a music room.

The palette runs warm — copper, ivory, sky — so it sits well in classical-modern, library, and warm-neutral rooms. It also holds against deep green or burgundy walls.

Yes. The grand-millennial move toward classical architecture and warm baroque detail in interiors has put pieces like this back in conversation. It pairs with antique frames and brass.

Above a standard sofa, a single Large carries the wall; for a longer wall, a 4-tile Mural reads from across the room and a 9-tile Mural fills a feature wall.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and handle humidity, which suits powder rooms and kitchen feature walls.

A soft microfibre cloth and clean water. No abrasive pads, no solvent-based cleaners. The colour lives in the ceramic surface and will not lift.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is painted by the studio in our stained-glass and alcohol-ink visual language and finished in-house. No licensing, no third-party art.

— if this one stayed with you

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