Gaflenz Parish Church

The parish church of Gaflenz stands in the village centre of the same name in the Steyr-Land district of Upper Austria. It is dedicated to Saint Andrew and has been under official protection since the early 20th century. The building began as a small early-Gothic structure in the 12th century before major Gothic expansions in the 15th century. The church is worth visiting for its layered history and the art it preserves. The choir vault shows the four Evangelists painted in 1617, later restored in the 19th century. Early-Gothic murals of Mary’s life were uncovered in 1948 and date from the 14th century. The tower, mostly rebuilt in 1697, holds a 1494 bell and a late-Gothic portal. Inside, late-Gothic wooden figures and a 17th-century organ add to the collection. Inside, the nave has a three-bay ribbed vault while the choir ends in a five-sided apse with its own ribbed vault. A northern extension from 1989 houses a chapel with a late-Gothic Madonna and Child. The tower chapel contains a 15th-century Pietà and the sacristy displays a figure of Saint Dionysius from the same period. A baroque painting of Saint Vitus by Johann Karl von Reslfeld hangs in the northern extension.