St. Stephen (Eichfeld)

St Stephanus stands in the small village of Eichfeld in Lower Austria, a quiet place where the church rises above the centre. Built as a Romanesque chapel, it became a parish church in the 14th century and still keeps its old tower and Gothic choir. The village grew under the Counts of Castell, who turned Eichfeld Protestant in 1556. The church survived wars and changes of faith and now shows layers from many centuries. The nave was rebuilt in 1902 in neo-Gothic style while the tower and choir remain from the 15th century. Inside, visitors see the former choir with ribbed vaulting and a fine neogothic wooden furnishings added after 1902. Outside, the west front has a stepped gable with iron fittings and a round stair turret. The south side is lit by tall round-headed windows and a central door under an inscription from Psalm 84. The tower carries a clock on two sides and ends in a pointed spire topped by a cross. Inside, the nave opens to a simple space framed by wooden arches and filled with neogothic pews and the two historic fonts.