Philippus-und-Jakobus-Kirche

The Philippus-und-Jakobus-Kirche stands in the centre of Hainburg an der Donau’s main square, a small town on the Danube in Lower Austria. Built for the saints Philip and James, it belongs to the deanery of Hainburg under the vicariate of Unter dem Wienerwald in the Archdiocese of Vienna. The church is protected as a listed monument. The building began as a chapel dedicated to James and Catherine in 1236. Around 1400 a choir was added, and in 1628 it became a parish church. The present early-baroque hall was planned in 1685 and finished before 1706, while the east tower was built in 1756 by Mathias Gerl. Inside, the high altar of 1713 was designed by Hans Michael Beckhl and carved by Mathias Roth and Jeremias Weißkopf. The organ dates from 1982 and was made by Reinisch-Pirchner, and a Turkish bell cast by Ignaz Hilzer in 1865 replaces a bell from 1685. A rococo column by Martin Vögerl, erected in 1749 and paid for by Elisabeth Oppitz, stands on the forecourt. Its four sides show reliefs of scenes from the life of Mary. The church’s low transept arms and the core of its choir still carry traces of the earlier gothic work.