Laurentiuskirche

The Roman Catholic filial church of St Lorenz stands in a small farming hamlet called the Wasserlos, a marshy stretch between the Drachenwand ridge and the Mondsee lake in Upper Austria. The church is dedicated to Saint Lawrence of Rome and belongs to the Mondsee Basilica parish. Records from the year 821 already mention the place as Uuazarlosa, long before the first written note of the church in 1384.

The present Baroque building was begun in 1726 under Abbot Gerhard Stadler and finished in 1729 by Abbot Bernhard Lidl. Its twin towers wear the bulbous helmets typical of South German Baroque. The three marble altars were carved by Georg Doppler, who trained at the imperial stone-yard near Vienna and worked on the Karlskirche in the capital. The altar paintings come from Jakob Zanusi’s workshop, showing the martyrdom of Saint Lawrence, Tobias with the guardian angel, and Saint Nicholas giving dowries to three poor maidens.

Inside, two large wooden statues by Meinrad Guggenbichler flank the choir: the Man of Sorrows and the Sorrowful Mother. The church’s single nave crosses into short side chapels, giving the floor plan a cross shape. Mason Adam Hueber and carpenter Wolf Hörlmoser oversaw the building work, while Zimmermeister Urban Fischinger completed the roof. The quiet setting beside the lake and the church’s white plaster walls make it a peaceful place to visit.