Saint Lawrence Church

The Catholic parish church of Hauskirchen stands in the Schulgasse of the village in Gänserndorf district, Lower Austria. It is dedicated to St Laurence and belongs to the deanery of Zistersdorf in the archdiocese of Vienna. The building has been listed as a monument since the 19th century. The church was founded around 1150 by Hugo of Liechtenstein and rebuilt in 1784 during the reforms of Emperor Joseph II. Its present form comes from 1897–1899 when Dombaumeister Julius Hermann carried out renovations. Twelve stained-glass windows were installed at Easter 1899, assembled from older panels of Vienna’s Stephansdom by Carl Geyling’s heirs. A new high altar, side altar and pulpit were added in 1900, carved in Gothic style by Ludwig Linzinger. The interior shows the high altar with statues of St Laurence, St Sebastian and St Florian, flanked by angels. The side altar carries a figure of the Virgin and Child. The church keeps a copy of the Madonna de Re, a 15th-century Italian image said to have bled after being struck by a stone. A late-Gothic crucifix dated 1544 hangs above the nave, and beneath the altar lies a crypt with four coffins. The four bells in the tower include one from the 16th century and a small death bell. The surrounding cemetery completes the site.