Maria an der Straße, Bad Ischl

The Roman Catholic parish church of Pfandl stands north of the Wolfgangsee road in the village of Haiden, part of Bad Ischl in Upper Austria. It is dedicated to Mary ‘at the roadside’ and holds Austria’s first motorists’ pilgrimage church. The building is protected as a monument. The church replaced a wooden chapel built between 1845 and 1857, which itself stood on an older site first recorded in 1312. After the Second World War the growing congregation needed a larger space, so a new church and parish hall were planned. The architect Franz Windhager designed the present building, completed in 1958 when Bishop Franz Zauner consecrated it and blessed 600 vehicles. Inside, the 33-metre-long nave seats 300 people under a vault supported by wide piers. Nine tall stained-glass windows by Sister Lydia Roppolt depict scenes from Mary’s life. The main altar is of black marble, the side altars honour the Sacred Heart and Saint Christopher, and the organ has 1 728 pipes. Three bronze bells, cast in St Florian, carry inscriptions asking Mary, Christopher and Joseph to protect travellers and workers.