Pfarrkirche Altlengbach

The Roman Catholic parish church of Altlengbach stands on a landscaped church hill in the market town of Altlengbach in the district of St Pölten in Lower Austria. It is dedicated to Saints Simon Zelotes and Judas Thaddäus and belongs to the deanery of Neulengbach in the diocese of St Pölten. Both the church and the former cemetery are protected monuments. The church was founded and consecrated in the 11th century by the Lords of Lengenbach. A parish is mentioned around 1200 and in 1253 the parish and the castle came under the control of the prince. By 1400 the seat of power had dissolved. The Magdalene altar was consecrated in 1458 and later linked to the St George’s Order founded by Emperor Frederick III. Christoph Stenzl served as parish priest here from 1515 to 1529. A fire damaged the church during the reforms of Joseph II. It was renovated in 1933–35 and restored again in 1973–74. The church forms part of a fortified church complex south of the main road on a landscaped hill. Parts of the enclosing wall survive on the west side, and a circular moat can still be seen in the terrain. The nave derives from a Romanesque predecessor, the choir is early Gothic, and the tower stands on what was probably a round Romanesque charnel house. Inside, the three-aisled nave has ribbed vaults from the late 16th century, while the raised choir has a five-sided apse and vaulting from the 13th century. The high altar is a Baroque retable of 1734 with a painting by Carl Aigen and statues by Matthias Kaiser. The organ case dates from the mid-19th century.