Stiftskirche Nonnberg

The Stiftskirche Nonnberg stands on the Nonnberg hill at the edge of Salzburg’s old town. It is a tall, three-aisled late-Gothic basilica with a Romanesque west tower and a high pitched roof. The church belongs to the Nonnberg Abbey, a Benedictine convent founded in the 8th century. It forms part of the UNESCO-listed historic core of Salzburg and is protected as a listed monument. The site has been sacred for centuries, with traces of Roman finds from the 1st and 2nd centuries beneath the apse. The church is worth visiting for its layered history and fine art. Heinrich II gave decisive help to rebuild the church after the first fire in 1006, and a new crypt was consecrated in 1043. The present Gothic structure took shape between 1423 and 1499 under masters like Hans and Wolfgang Wieser. The tower was heightened in 1711 by Sebastian Stumpfegger, adding a Baroque onion dome. Inside, a late-Gothic winged altar carved around 1515 by the Hallstätter Meister holds figures of Mary and Salzburg’s founding saints. Visitors enter through the late-Gothic south portal with statues of Emperor Heinrich II, Mary and the child Jesus, and the local saints Rupert and Erentrudis. Inside, four massive clustered piers support the nave under a net-ribbed vault. High on the west wall, a carved wooden door shows scenes from the lives of Rupert and Erentrudis. Above the laity’s church, the Nonnenchor has richly traceried windows and faded frescoes by Matthäus Ostendorfer from 1625. The apse contains a rare 1473 stained-glass window by Peter Hemmel of Andlau, depicting the life of Christ in vivid panels.