Church of the Assumption in Neunkirchen

The Stadtpfarrkirche Neunkirchen stands in the centre of Neunkirchen, a town in Lower Austria. It is a Roman Catholic parish church surrounded on three sides by the old Minoritenkloster, giving it the appearance of a fortified hilltop site. The church is dedicated to the Assumption of Mary and has been under state protection as a monument since the 20th century.

The church’s history reaches back before the 11th century, when it first appears in records. From 1094 it belonged to a Bavarian Benedictine monastery, and from the 12th century until 1782 it was under the Archbishopric of Salzburg. In 1591 the Hoyos family took over patronage, ensuring the parish remained Catholic. After a fire in 1907 the interior was rebuilt, and a new organ was installed in 1983.

Inside, the high altar rises to the vault, its central painting of the Assumption of Mary framed by statues of saints and angels. The altar’s tabernacle is crowned with a copy of Cranach’s ‘Maria Hilf’, an image long venerated for its miracles. The church also contains a side chapel built in 1733, and a set of four bells cast in 1951, with a smaller bell from 1907 still hanging in the tower lantern.