This unusual feature has triggered many discussions among experts, and it is suspected that the church was adapted from a previously secular building.

The church was surrounded by shops, and a nearby building housed the Stadtguardia, a forerunner of the modern police.

The decision to build a new church was taken up with the arrival of the Fraternity of the Holy Trinity of which the emperor Leopold I was a member.

The construction of the new Baroque church was begun around 1701 under Gabriele Montani, who was replaced by Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt in 1703.

The turreted dome was mainly designed by Matthias Steinl, who was also responsible for the interior decoration and the pews with cherubic heads.

The Baroque high altar was created by Antonio Galli Bibiena and his Bolognese workshop (construction) and Martino Altomonte (1657–1745) (altarpiece).

The shrines in the side chapels of the Holy Family and St. Michael contain martyrs from Roman catacombs, donated by Cardinal Kollonitz in 1733.

Opposite the pulpit there is a gold-and-silver representation of the Martyrdom of St. John of Nepomuk, sculpted by Lorenzo Mattielli.