The church was built when, in the second half of the 19th century, the Protestant community wanted to erect a representative sacred building, partly because the existing articular church was becoming increasingly dilapidated. The Danish-Austrian architect Theophil von Hansen developed a project in Neo-Byzantine style (with elements of Byzantine, Romanesque, Renaissance, Moorish and Oriental styles), originally intended for Jerusalem (or another city in the Orient). A similar church, but without the tower and the dome, was already in the 6th district of Vienna, Mariahilf, according to plans by the architect Ludwig Förster.
The ceremonial start of construction on the site of a filled-in moat in front of the city wall, on a donated lot, took place in 1872. Local builder Viktor Lazary oversaw the construction. The new building was roofed until 1880, but due to lack of money the construction had to be interrupted for 11 years. Only on December 2, 1894 could the completed church be consecrated.