Pfarrkirche Krönung Mariens

The Pfarrkirche Traunkirchen stands beside the Traunsee in the Salzkammergut region of Upper Austria. This Roman Catholic parish church, dedicated to the Coronation of Mary, began as a Benedictine convent founded around 1020. For centuries it served as the spiritual centre for many parishes, reaching as far as Hallstatt and Bad Aussee. The church’s history reflects the turbulent religious changes of the 16th and 17th centuries. After the Reformation took hold, the convent came under Jesuit administration in 1622. A fire in 1632 destroyed the earlier buildings, and the present Baroque church was completed by 1652. The adjacent Kalvarienberg, built in 1696, is one of the oldest in the region. Inside, the high altar of 1754 features rich carvings by Franz Preisl, including life-size figures of apostles and saints. The famous Fisherman’s Pulpit, carved in 1753, depicts the Miraculous Draught of Fishes from the Gospel of John. Nearby, the Michaelskapelle retains its Romanesque core and now serves as a mortuary chapel. The churchyard, lined with wrought-iron crosses, holds a memorial to the 1910 boating disaster that claimed fifteen lives.