Pfarrkirche Münichreith am Ostrong

The parish church of Münichreith am Ostrong stands in the centre of the village of Münichreith in the municipality of Münichreith-Laimbach, Melk district, Lower Austria. A Roman Catholic church dedicated to Saint Nicholas, it belongs to the deanery of Maria Taferl in the diocese of St Pölten. The church and its adjoining cemetery are listed as historic monuments. The building began as a church in 1073 and became a parish church by 1144. It served as the mother church for parishes in Altenmarkt and Neukirchen until the late 13th and late 18th centuries respectively. The present structure is a Gothic hall church with a rectangular choir and a sturdy west tower set at a slight angle. Outside, the steep roof of the nave is supported by low buttresses on the south side, while the north portal dates from the early 15th century and is sheltered by a 19th-century porch. The tower, from the 14th century, has narrow slit windows and pointed-arch openings above. Inside, the nave was rebuilt in the 15th century as a three-aisled hall with ribbed vaulting on slender columns. The choir, slightly wider than the nave, contains a richly profiled ribbed vault from the mid-14th century.