Saint Martin Church

The Pfarrkirche Göllersdorf stands in the village centre of Göllersdorf in Lower Austria. It is a late Baroque church with a northern tower, dedicated to Saint Martin. The building occupies the eastern end of the main square, marking the heart of the community. The church is worth visiting for its layered history and art. First recorded in 1356, the parish once shared its fate with the mother parish of Hausleiten. A Gothic predecessor was built in 1456 as a donation by Katharina Heusloder and served as a burial site. After the community briefly turned Protestant, Wolf von Puchheim restored Catholicism in 1611. Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt redesigned the church in 1740 using surviving fabric, and it was consecrated the following year. Visitors find a richly detailed exterior. The west façade rises with giant pilasters and a broken pediment topped by a Schönborn coat of arms and a statue of Saint Martin on horseback. A sun-dial dated 1741 marks the south side, while the north tower shows late Gothic cores beneath its onion dome. Inside, a two-bay nave leads to a domed crossing and a round apse. The high altar by Benedikt Henrici shows classicist forms, and side altars display rococo frames with painted scenes. The Baroque organ, restored several times, still plays with 658 pipes across two manuals and pedal.