The Cathedral of St. Nicholas in Vienna is the center of the Russian Orthodox community. Its construction took place from 1893 to 1899 based on the designs of Grigory Ivanovich Kotov, with the architect being the Italian Luigi Giacomelli. The cathedral was conceived as an embassy church.

The majority of the funds for construction, amounting to 400,000 rubles, were provided by Tsar Alexander III. St. Nicholas Cathedral was consecrated on April 4 (17), 1899. With the onset of World War I, the church was closed and placed under the protection of neutral Spain. From 1924, after the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and Austria, the building was assigned to the Soviet embassy, but during the Stalin era, it was mainly used as a warehouse.

During World War II, the church was handed over to the Higher School of Music of the Third Reich. However, in 1945, the cathedral reopened its doors to worshippers thanks to the support of the Soviet military command, and in 1948, the Soviet Army gifted the church a new main bell. Since 1962, St. Nicholas Cathedral has been part of the Vienna Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate).

The cathedral features five domes and is designed in the traditional forms of Russian church architecture. The interior is divided into upper and lower parts. The upper altar is dedicated to St. Nicholas, while the lower one is dedicated to St. Prince Alexander Nevsky.

From 2003 to 2008, the cathedral underwent extensive restoration. Instead of the planned celebration of its re-consecration, a memorial service for the late Patriarch Alexy II was held on December 21, 2008. Next to the cathedral is the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Austria.