Andräkirche

The Pfarrkirche Salzburg-St. Andrä stands in the Neustadt district of Salzburg. It is a large city parish church dedicated to Saint Andrew. The original church on Linzer Gasse was consecrated in 1418 by Master Georg Bauer. The church served as a parish from 1811 and was rebuilt several times. In 1861 it was shortened and converted into a residential and commercial building. A new church was begun in 1892 on a site behind the former city walls. The present neogothic building was designed by Josef Wessicken and built under city master builder Jakob Ceconi. Cardinal Haller consecrated it in 1898. The church was severely damaged by Allied bombing in 1944 and 1945. It was rebuilt by Michael Kurz, though not in its original form. The interior was redesigned by Karl Weiser, who created the altar and stained glass. In the 1970s the spires were shortened and the brickwork plastered. Visitors find a church whose towers now reach about 43 metres. Inside hangs a four-part bell system, the largest bell weighing over 3.6 tonnes. The organ, built by Franz Mauracher in 1903, was praised for its advanced pneumatic action but was destroyed in the air raids. The surrounding square occupies the former site of the city’s bastions and barracks. The Sebastianskirche nearby once served as a temporary replacement during the parish’s history.