Pfarrkirche Schwanenstadt

The Roman Catholic parish church of Schwanenstadt stands south of the town square in Upper Austria. Dedicated to the Archangel Michael, it belongs to the deanery of Schwanenstadt in the diocese of Linz. Locals often call it the ‘Dom an der Ager’ because of its size. The church and the former cemetery area are protected monuments. The parish was first recorded in 1291 and once formed the centre of a large main parish that included Atzbach, Rüstorf and Desselbrunn. Its origins probably reach back to the 8th century, when the first parishes were created during the monastic foundations of Mondsee and Kremsmünster. The dedication to Saint Michael points to the Carolingian period. Beneath the choir lies a crypt from the 11th or 12th century, evidence of an earlier Romanesque church. After a fire in 1554 the building was rebuilt as a three-aisled hall church, keeping the old walls and the late-Gothic sanctuary. In 1681 the choir was rebuilt in Baroque style, and the tower was destroyed by fire in 1814 and rebuilt in 1829. The present neo-Gothic church was constructed between 1900 and 1902 to designs by Paul Hochegger under architect Matthäus Schlager. It covers about 960 square metres inside, with an outer length of 52 metres and a width of 35 metres. The nave vault rises 17 metres, and the tower reaches about 80 metres. Inside, round granite columns support the six-bay hall. The high altar of 1906 shows a life-size carving of the Last Supper flanked by statues of Saints Sebastian and Florian, with figures of the three archangels above. The organ, built by Josef Mauracher in 1905, has 37 registers and was his largest and final work. Five bronze bells weighing 4800 kilograms, cast in 1977 by Perner of Passau, hang in the tower.