Pfarrkirche Obersdorf

The Roman Catholic parish church of Obersdorf stands in the centre of the village of Obersdorf in the municipality of Wolkersdorf in the Weinviertel region of the district of Mistelbach in Lower Austria. It is dedicated to Saint Anthony of Padua and belongs to the Wolkersdorf deanery in the vicariate of the Archdiocese of Vienna beneath the Manhartsberg. The building is protected as a monument. The present church was rebuilt after fires in 1858 and 1864, having begun as small chapels in 1703 and 1724. In 1912 the nave was extended north and south with additions. The exterior is plain, with a polygonal choir at the north and a round-arched portal in the south façade, part of the tower that projects forward. The tower has round-arched sound openings and a bulbous dome added in 1849 and 1880, while the transept ends in curved gables. Above the portal is a stone inscribed ‘1724’, and on the south transept façade a 1993 painting of the Trinity by Hermann Bauch. Inside, the three-bay nave has barrel vaults in the side arms and a ribbed vault in the central bays, supported by Tuscan columns. The organ loft rests on three such columns, and the chancel has ribbed barrel vaults above wall pilasters. The tower ground floor is covered by a flat-panel vault. Stained glass windows date from the early 20th century, and the high altar shows Saint Anthony before the Madonna, painted in 1864 by Josef Kastner. The gallery organ was built in 1897 by Johann M. Kauffmann.