Pfarrkirche hl. Jakobus in Werfen

The parish church of Werfen stands on the western slope above the market square in the centre of Werfen, a town in the Salzach valley south of Salzburg. It is a simple rectangular building with a detached tower at the north-east corner. The church is dedicated to Saint James the Elder and has been protected as a listed monument since the 20th century.

The present church replaced three earlier buildings destroyed by fire in 1309, 1516 and 1589. Construction began in 1652 under the direction of the Salzburg court architect Johann Baptist von Driesche and was completed in 1657. The tower was heightened in 1776 and the church became the parish church in 1854. Later restorations took place in 1937 and between 1975 and 1977.

Inside, the church contains a Baroque high altar of 1622 with a free-standing mensa and a tabernacle brought from St Michael in Lungau in 1953. The altarpiece shows the Coronation of the Virgin and a painting of Saint James the Elder, flanked by figures of Saints Rupert and Virgil and, above, Saints Michael and Raphael with Tobias. The organ was installed by Ludwig Mooser in 1853 and has eight stops and a pedal division.