What it is
Emperor Charles VI vowed to build the church during the plague of 1713 and dedicated it to St. Charles Borromeo, a patron against the plague. Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach began it in 1716 and his son Joseph Emanuel completed it in 1737. The oval interior is crowned by Johann Michael Rottmayr's vast dome fresco, and the two columns carry spiralling reliefs from the saint's life.
The church stands at the south end of Karlsplatz, next to the Vienna Museum and the Technical University, with Otto Wagner's Art Nouveau station pavilions on the square nearby.
Getting there by bus
Karlsplatz station (U1, U2, U4) is a few minutes' walk across the park, and bus 4A stops right there too. Trams 2, 71 and D stop at Schwarzenbergplatz and tram D also at Gußhausstraße, both about 250 metres from the church.
The Naschmarkt and the State Opera are both within ten minutes' walk.
