In 1713, after the last major plague epidemic in Vienna, Emperor Charles VI pledged to build a church dedicated to St. Charles Borromeo. Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach won the architectural competition. Construction began in 1716 under Anton Erhard Martinelli. After Fischer von Erlach's death in 1723, his son Joseph Emanuel completed the church in 1737 and modified the plans.
The style is Baroque. The central facade corresponds to a Greek temple portico, flanked by two columns made by Lorenzo Mattielli and inspired by Trajan's Column in Rome. Their spiral reliefs depict scenes from the life of Charles Borromeo. The dome rises 230 feet (70 m) above a high drum, which the younger Fischer shortened and partly altered.
Johann Michael Rottmayr and Gaetano Fanti painted the dome fresco, which shows an intercession of Charles Borromeo supported by the Virgin Mary. The pulpit was restored between 2006 and 2007.
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