Pfarrkirche Mittersill

Mittersill, Salzburg

Parish Church The largest of the three churches in Mittersill has stood outside and south of the old market center for more than 250 years. After the destruction of the former Leonhard's Church by the market fire and frequent floods, the current parish church was rebuilt at a slightly higher and drier location. Notably, it is oriented north-south rather than the usual eastward, and features a onion dome tower. Like the Annakirche, these elements indicate construction during the Baroque or Rococo period; in the entire Oberpinzgau region, there are otherwise only churches with a spire tower. The interior of the church has been restored several times in recent decades and now shines in bright splendor. Visitors interested in art can discover several features that still originate from the old Gothic main church. The Mittersill sculptor and painter Petrus Schmid, father and son, have left their mark here with their works. Both the high altar with the image of St. Leonard, patron of prisoners and the sick, and the side altars (to the left, the Joseph altar as a reference to the Josefi-Bruderschaft founded in Mittersill in 1721; to the right, the women’s altar with the Gothic figure of Mother of God - Unser Liebe Frau Gnadenbildnuß in the market of Mittersill) originate from the old Leonhard's Church. However, they were built higher and wider to better fit the new, larger church building. In addition to the two life-sized figures in the nave – on the left, the Mater Dolorosa (Our Lady of Sorrows), and on the right, the Ecce Homo (Man of Sorrows) – the elaborate pulpit with sound cover is noteworthy. This work, often regarded by art experts as the most magnificent Rococo pulpit in the Pinzgau, also comes from father and son Schmid. Furthermore, the Mittersill church windows, commissioned by the then caretaker Ignaz von Kürsinger, are remarkable. In 1841, he wrote about the rebirth of stained glass in Austria, noting that since their acquisition, high-ranking persons, scholars, and artists have viewed these glass paintings. They were created by Johann Hauer from Krumau, the son of a glass manufacturer, who worked in several glassworks in Salzburg and Upper Austria. Unfortunately, two precious artworks from the old church are not visible: the Gothic statuette of St. Leonard in the non-publicly accessible weekday chapel, and the group of figures of St. Anna-Selbdritt from the former Faistenberger altar in the Annakirche, now housed in the Salzburg Cathedral Museum.