Ulrichskirche

The Ulrichskirche stands in Weitersfelden, a village in the Mühlviertel region of Upper Austria. It is a Roman Catholic parish church dedicated to Saint Ulrich, built on a slight rise north of the village square. The church has been under Denkmalschutz, or heritage protection, since the 14th century. Local historians like Ludwig Riepl and Rudolf Zinnhobler spent years researching its origins in archives across Passau, Vienna and Linz. Their work confirmed that a wooden church likely stood here before 1300, built by a local lord to secure rights over land and resources. The church’s history is marked by fires in 1706, 1784 and 1853, each time rebuilding the structure while preserving earlier elements. The late-Gothic nave, completed around 1500, is unusual for the Mühlviertel: a two-bay, two-aisled space with a central star vault supported by a single column. The tower, originally from the 14th century, was raised in the late 19th century, and the nave was extended westwards in 1972 under architect Anton Zemann. The southward extension shifted the triumphal arch, making it asymmetrical, while the choir retains its five-sided Gothic ribbed vault with later Baroque touches. Inside, the church holds statues of Saints Ulrich and Martin from the 18th century, restored and placed in the sanctuary. The north wall features figures of Saints Leopold and Christopher, while the south wall displays Saints Henry and Florian, dated 1789. The rare statue of Saint Henry came from Stift Schlägel’s refectory and was reworked by sculptor Artur Rauch. A restored Baroque Marian altar shows a mid-18th-century Madonna flanked by smaller figures of Saints Sebastian and Roch or James. The former side altar, still called the Martin altar, actually holds a painting of Saint Brixius from the former chapel at Harrachstal. The church’s interior blends Gothic structure with Baroque art, framed by the quiet village setting of Weitersfelden.