Pfarrkirche Obermarkersdorf

The parish church of Obermarkersdorf stands on the southern edge of the village in the town of Schrattenthal, within the Hollabrunn district of Lower Austria. It serves the local Catholic community under the patronage of Saints Nicholas and Urban and belongs to the Retz-Pulkautal deanery in the Archdiocese of Vienna. The church is protected as a listed monument, recognising its historical and architectural significance. The church’s origins date back before 1383, with a consecration recorded in 1389 and a reconsecration in 1489. The current nave was rebuilt and altered after a fire in 1757, following its original construction in 1720. Its architecture blends Baroque and Gothic styles, with a Baroque nave, a Gothic choir, and a northern tower. The exterior features a polygonal Gothic choir from the late 13th century, marked by three-tiered buttresses and small round windows with trefoil tracery beneath the eaves. Inside, the church presents a unified Baroque interior. The three-bay nave has a barrel vault with lunettes resting on broad pilasters, while the west gallery is cross-vaulted. The two-bay choir includes a rounded five-sided apse with a ribbed vault from the late 14th century. Notable features include Baroque wall paintings from the mid-18th century depicting God the Father and Christian symbols, as well as stained glass windows featuring Saints Anthony of Padua, Christ, and Mary, dating to around 1900. The high altar, crafted in the mid-18th century, displays a painted scene of Saint Urban and the rescue of shipwrecked sailors by Saint Nicholas, flanked by statues of Saints Joachim, Anna, Florian, and Donatus.