Vienna Austria Temple

Announcement of the Vienna Austria Temple

President Russell M. Nelson, 17th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, announced the Vienna Austria Temple on April 4, 2021, during the Sunday afternoon session of April 2021 general conference. The announcement of a house of the Lord for Austria — the first for that nation — was among 20 temples announced worldwide.

Missionary work began in Austria in 1865 when Elder Orson Pratt, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and William W. Ritter arrived in the country. However, because of legal restrictions and conflicts, Church growth was sporadic until after World War I. It wasn’t until September 1955 that the Austrian government granted official recognition to the Church.

Through the following decades, Latter-day Saints in Austria kept the faith — bringing about the country’s first stake, organized in Vienna in 1980. Seventeen years later, in 1997, a second Austria stake was organized in Salzburg.

In October 2022, a year and a half after the April 2021 announcement of a temple for Vienna, Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles visited Austria during a five-country ministry tour in Central Europe. To the Saints living in both Hungary, where the Church announced plans to construct a temple in Budapest, and in Austria, the Apostle related that plans for sacred edifices in their midst was an indication that the members of the Church are building Zion where they live.

“Let me say this very clearly — it’s not about going to the temple, it’s about having the temple in you,” Elder Bednar said. “... The living Lord Jesus Christ has authorized the construction of two temples right here, so that you will focus first and foremost on Him through the covenants and ordinances and the promised blessings that will flow into your life.”

Members in Austria have been overjoyed since the announcement of a house of the Lord in Vienna, said Vienna native Elder Helmut D. Wondra, an Area Seventy in the Europe Central Area, during Elder Bednar’s visit.

“The members in Austria have a strong tradition of temple service because they know that temple service blesses their lives and helps to strengthen their relationships to our Heavenly Father and Savior in ways that nothing else does,” Elder Wondra said.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ya2XmMG_mc

The Vienna Austria Temple was announced by Church President Russell M. Nelson on April 4, 2021. On Oct. 30, 2023, the Church announced a site location for a multistory house of the Lord in Vienna — the first temple for Austria. Details about the temple’s groundbreaking have not yet been released.

Architecture and Design of the Vienna Austria Temple

According to site plans released by the Church on Oct. 30, 2023, the Vienna Austria Temple will be a multistory building of approximately 15,300 square feet. The edifice will stand on a 0.80-acre site at Silbergasse 2 in Austria’s capital city.