Old Church Stockern

The former parish church of Stockern stands as a roofless ruin in the village of Stockern, deep in the forested hills of the Waldviertel. It was once dedicated to Saint Vitus and first appears in records from 1314. By the 18th century the building had grown into a mix of Gothic choir, Baroque nave and western tower. In 1763 Ignaz Casparides of Znaim built a new organ for the church. The fabric decayed under repeated floods and damp, and in 1907 the parish chose to build a new church of the Sacred Heart instead. The old fabric was left to collapse, though three paintings by the Kremser Schmidt were removed and sold to Vienna to help pay for the new building. Erzherzog Franz Ferdinand later acquired the panels for the Neue Hofburg. Visitors today find a quiet grassy churchyard surrounding the broken walls. The Gothic choir arches still rise above the ground, while the Baroque nave shows its vaults open to the sky. The western tower stands partly intact, offering a view over the rolling Waldviertel woods. The site is peaceful, with only the wind and birds breaking the silence of this abandoned place.