Pfarrkirche Kuchl

The Pfarrkirche Kuchl stands in the south-west of Kuchl, a village in the Hallein district of Salzburg. It is a late-Gothic hall church dedicated to the Assumption of Mary and Saint Pankraz. The building has been under official protection as a historic monument since the 19th century. The church’s origins go back to a 5th-century structure, with remains of two Romanesque predecessors uncovered in 1977. After a fire in the early 13th century it was rebuilt and given to Salzburg Cathedral Chapter in 1244. Major restorations took place in 1955 and 1977, revealing the crypt in the process. Outside, the church is surrounded by a cemetery and topped with a steep roof and west tower. Inside, the three-aisled nave has late-Gothic star vaults on round shafts, while the two-bay choir ends in a three-sided apse with similar vaulting. The southern aisle leads down to a two-bay crypt with a three-sided apse and ribbed vault, housing an altar by Josef Zenzmaier and a 15th-century inscription slab.