Saint Giles Church

The Romanesque parish church of St Ägydius stands beside the main road in Bernhardsthal, a small town in the Mistelbach district of Lower Austria. Its nave and square choir date from the twelfth century, though the polygonal choir was added in 1330. A fortified cemetery wall once enclosed the church and the adjoining rectory, traces of which remain today.

The church is worth visiting for its layered history and fine craftsmanship. After a fire in 1684 the interior was vaulted in the Baroque style and a slender west tower was added around 1780. The high altar, completed in 1761, carries a painting of St Ägydius by Ludwig Mayer from 1856, flanked by statues of Saints Peter and Paul. Three historic bells cast in 1684, 1692 and 1762 still ring for services.

Inside, the nave is divided into four bays under a Baroque cross-ribbed vault supported by sturdy pilasters. The choir retains a fragment of Gothic ribbed vaulting with a carved keystone, while the northern chapel has ribs cut short at the corners. The organ, built by Johann M. Kauffmann in 1951, stands on an inserted gallery. Outside, the west tower rises with its onion dome and corner pilasters, and the old cemetery wall frames the churchyard.