Saint Anne Church

The parish church of Breitstetten stands in the village of Breitstetten in the Marchfeld region of Lower Austria. It is dedicated to Saint Anne and belongs to the Marchfeld deanery in the vicariate of the Archdiocese of Vienna. The building is protected as a historic monument. The church began as a late Romanesque structure in the early 13th century. In 1713 it was remodelled in the Baroque style, and in 1784 it became a parish church. The exterior shows a simple Romanesque nave with a steep roof, while the round choir from the Romanesque period remains. An octagonal east tower with a pyramid roof was added in 1807. On the north side a Baroque sacristy from the 18th century joins the choir, and on the west a small porch was built. Inside, the three-bay nave is covered by a cross-ribbed vault. A narrow round-arched triumphal arch separates the nave from the narrower, single-bay choir, which ends in a flat apse. The high altar is a double-column retable from the first half of the 18th century, with an altarpiece showing Saint Anne teaching the Virgin to read. The left side altar holds statues of Saints John of Nepomuk and Bernard, while the right side altar has figures of Saints Sebastian and Roch. The Baroque pulpit displays figures of the four Evangelists, and a Baroque group of statues depicts Saint Anne with the Virgin. The Stations of the Cross date from the second half of the 19th century, and the stained glass windows are from the same period.