The church, standing in the centre of Kőszeg, was erected between 1892 and 1894.
With the construction of the church, not only did a lifelong dream of the locals come true, but they may also have felt that they had contributed to the millennial celebrations, to the general economic and cultural progress being achieved nationwide. The designer of the church was a celebrated Viennese architect, Ludwig Schöne, who was also actively involved in the building of Vienna’s belt road (Ringstrasse). Being an advocate of contemporary fashion, historical architecture, Schöne was also keen on mixing various styles. The parish church has three naves and the tower above the entrance is 57 meters tall, which makes it the tallest building in Kőszeg. It should be noted that Matthias Church at Buda Castle is 80 meters tall, which puts this achievement into perspective.
The intense paintwork in the inside of the church, quite typical of the time, is the work of Viennese artist Otto Kott. The plans for a new church had been conceived decades earlier, in the late 1800s, when it became clear that the Church of St Emeric – where Catholic services were held – was becoming too small for a growing congregation. The idea originated from parish priest János Győri who specified in his testament where the new church should be standing. Owing to the generosity of the local citizens such a significant sum had been collected by the end of 1880s that it was possible to commission a designer to draw the plans. It was another parish priest, János Major, who made a lot of effort to bring the plan into fruition.The construction was overseen by Sudeten German builder Ede Andráskay Müller, who had settled in Kőszeg a short time earlier and who earned widespread recognition in the region with the high-standard work in implementing the plans and was entrusted with similar tasks in the decades to come. The works commenced in 1892 and by the time of the ominous military exercise of 1893, the outer walls had been practically completed and only a year later the church opened to the public.
The building of the Parish Church of the Sacred Heart was a symbolic act, a token of Catholic collaboration and unity.
