Pfarrkirche Waitzendorf

The parish church of Holy Trinity in Waitzendorf stands on a small hill at the southern edge of the village in Lower Austria. Its most striking feature is the leaning tower, which leans noticeably to one side. The building has been protected as a listed monument since the 20th century. The church first appears in records in 1398, when a mass endowment was made. It was later called the Church of Our Lady until 1749, when it was rededicated to the Holy Trinity. The tower was built between 1711 and 1713 in the late Renaissance style, though it now leans at about 1.1 degrees. A new parish house was added in the 18th century after Count Christoph Schallenberg agreed to fund its construction. The church’s polygonal choir and extended nave date from the 19th century, when the original Gothic vault was replaced with a flat ceiling. Inside, an organ built in 1913 by Franz Strommer stands on a single manual with eight registers. The surrounding churchyard, once located next to the building, was moved to a new site in 1820.