Pfarrkirche Unternberg

The Roman Catholic parish church of Unternberg stands in the Lungau valley near Tamsweg in Salzburg province. It is dedicated to Saint Ulrich of Augsburg and belongs to the Tamsweg deanery of the Salzburg archdiocese. The building is protected as an official monument. The present church was partly demolished because of structural damage. Between 1978 and 1979 the architect Heinz Tesar redesigned and enlarged it. The old Baroque sanctuary can now be closed off with a sliding door and serves as a weekday chapel; its altars remain in place. A new square nave was added, aligned diagonally on the modern high altar so that both spaces can be used together on feast days. Wolfgang Hollegha’s altar painting was originally commissioned but later withdrawn; after thirty years it has now returned to the church. The annual Ulrichsprangtag festival is marked by a procession led by local associations. In 1979 the project received the Austrian Building Owners’ Prize. The interior combines the preserved Baroque sanctuary with Tesar’s minimalist modern nave, creating a quiet space for prayer and reflection.