Церква святої Варвари Church of St. Barbara

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Walking down Postgasse, I noticed the Ukrainian flag above the entrance to the building. It turned out to be one of the places in Vienna connected with Ukraine. The first temple on this site was built in 1423. From 1623 they were owned by the Jesuits, who built the chapel of St. Barbara. In 1652-1564 a church in the early Baroque style was built on the site of the chapel. In 1775, Empress Maria Theresa handed over the church to the Greek Catholic Church. Its purpose was to create a training center for the Greek Catholic clergy in the Habsburg Empire, called "Barbarum". In 1784 the seminary was closed, a parish was established.

The church, which once stood alone, is now almost completely integrated into the building of the Main Post Office. The relics of the Archbishop of Polotsk, St. Joseph Kuntsevich, have been kept here since 1916. The temple also houses an icon of Christ, decorated with enamels and rock crystal.
Researchers believe that the waist portrait of Christ was embroidered by the daughter of Marie Theresa Marie Antoinette. Today, St. Barbara's Church is the central parish of the United Ukrainian Church in Austria.

To the left of the entrance to the church there is a memorial plaque to the composer Andriy Hnatyshyn, who led the church choir for many years. On the other hand, since 1999 there is a bust of Ivan Franko by Lviv sculptor Lubomyr Yaremchuk.