Pfarrkirche hl. Sebastian

The parish church of Gosau stands in the village centre of Gosau, a municipality in the Gmunden district of Upper Austria. It is dedicated to Saint Sebastian and belongs to the pastoral area of Bad Goisern within the deanery of Bad Ischl. The building is protected as a listed monument. The present parish was founded in 1500, though a wooden chapel already existed in the Kirchschlag district by 1231. The main body of the church was rebuilt between 1500 and 1507, when Saint Sebastian’s popularity as a protector against plague and epidemics reached its height. A small turret was replaced by the current tower between 1864 and 1865, and the nave and chancel were extended in 1874. The single-aisled nave has four bays, while the choir ends in a five-sided apse under a Gothic-style ribbed vault. Inside, the church is mostly furnished in the neo-Gothic style. The Baroque high altar holds an 18th-century figure of Saint Sebastian. The west portal is Gothic, adorned with three simple carved heads. The north tower rises with a pointed spire above the nave.