Parish Church Bad Leonfelden

The parish church in Bad Leonfelden stands at the western end of the main square in the town centre. Built of unrendered rubble stone, it is a protected historic building dedicated to Saint Bartholomew. First recorded in 1154, the church was enlarged between 1875 and 1877 under Abbot Alois Dorfer to reach its present size. The church’s long history includes rebuilding after a 15th-century fire and later changes such as the 1781 baroque tower alterations by Raimund Jeblinger. A major blaze in 1892 destroyed the roof and tower, which had to be rebuilt with a new neogothic design. The interior still shows the 19th-century neogothic style introduced by Dombaumeister Otto Schirmer. Inside, the three-aisled nave stretches about thirty metres long and twenty metres wide. The neogothic high altar and side chapels remain from the 1870s enlargement. The 1980 organ by the Upper Austrian organ builders and the surviving small Bernhard bell from 1917 are also notable features. Outside, the north portal and the oil-berg relief recall the earlier gothic church.