Saint Blaise parish church in Abtenau

The Roman Catholic parish church of Abtenau stands at the eastern edge of the village square in the market town of Abtenau, Hallein district, Salzburg. It is dedicated to Saint Blasius and has been under Denkmalschutz since the 19th century. The first written record of a church here dates from 1191, when Archbishop Adalbert III noted its existence. The church is worth visiting for its layered history and outstanding artworks. The late-Gothic core was built in 1313 and rededicated to Saint Anne, yet by 1411 the patron saint had become Blasius again. After a fire in 1525 the nave vault was rebuilt and later given a Baroque finish. The high altar of 1684, carved by Simeon Fries, shows a Madonna from St Peter’s Abbey flanked by statues of Saints Rupert, Blasius and Maximilian. The left side altar displays Johann Friedrich Pereth’s painting of the vision of Saint Theresia receiving the scapular, while the right side altar shows the Holy Family fleeing into Egypt. Inside, the three-bay ribbed vault rises above the pews, and the Annakapelle on the east side opens through arcades to the nave. Frescoes uncovered in 1939 depict Solomon’s Judgement and the Works of Mercy, while the keystone in the south aisle carries a fourteenth-century relief of the Hand of God holding a scroll. To the left of the rood screen stands the locally revered ‘Abtenau Christ Child’, a blessing figure of 1685.