Sankt Martin

The parish church of Meggenhofen stands in the village of Meggenhofen in Upper Austria. It is dedicated to Saint Martin and belongs to the deanery of Gaspoltshofen in the diocese of Linz. The church, the adjoining cemetery and the small bridge over the old moat are all protected as historic monuments.

The present building dates back to 1302, though its late-Gothic core shows a three-bay nave and a two-bay choir ending in a five-sided apse. A lower north aisle, the Annakapelle, was added later. The vaulting ribs have largely been removed, but the ribbed west gallery under the organ loft survives. The tower at the north-east corner carries a neo-Gothic pointed spire, and the parish house beside it was built in 1610.

Inside, the high altar, side altars and pulpit date from the second quarter of the eighteenth century. The Annakapelle’s altar is neo-Gothic, and the organ itself is mid-eighteenth century. Plain white walls and simple furnishings let the late-Gothic structure speak for itself, while the bridge and moat remain as quiet reminders of the church’s medieval defences.