Pfarrkirche Kelchsau

The parish church of Kelchsau stands in the village centre of Kelchsau, a hamlet in the Brixental valley south of Hopfgarten. It is surrounded on three sides by the village cemetery, giving the building a quiet setting among gravestones. The church is dedicated to Saint Rupert and belongs to the diocese of Salzburg. The church was built in the 1840s after local people collected money, including gifts from Emperor Ferdinand I and his wife. Construction took little more than a year and the church was consecrated in 1850. In 1891 it became a parish church and was decorated with frescoes by Virgil Groder. The interior still shows the original early-historicist style with painted ceilings and stained glass. The west front has a pointed arch doorway above which a round window lights the gallery. Inside, the barrel-vaulted nave has three bays and a round apse. The high altar shows a seated Madonna with Saints Virgil and Rupert, while side altars hold statues of Saint Joseph and the Sacred Heart. The organ, built in 1897, stands on the west gallery. The painted Stations of the Cross date from about 1890 and the church retains its historic furnishings.