History of the Church

Settlement and Church History
by Josef Peter Zauner

The roots of settlement around the Hallstatt Salt Mountain go back some 8,000 years. The history of the Catholic Church represents only the most recent chapter in this long story.

Following the founding of the monasteries of Mondsee (748), Kremsmünster (777), and Traunkirchen (around the year 1000), Christianity gradually spread along the Traun Valley. Around the year 1010, the existence of a Christian community in Hallstatt can be assumed. By 1181 at the latest, a small Romanesque church stood on this site. Its twelfth-century tower has survived to the present day.

In 1311, Hallstatt was granted market rights, and in 1320 the enlarged Romanesque church was consecrated by Auxiliary Bishop Hermann of Passau as the Church of Our Lady of Help (Maria Hilf).

The Late Gothic Church

Around 1505, construction began on the present Catholic Church of St Mary, boldly erected on the rocky ledge high above the steep mountainside. Two altar endowments—one by the miners' guild and one by the townspeople—help explain the church's distinctive double choir and unusual two-aisled design.

In the centuries that followed, the church was affected by the religious conflicts of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation, at times serving both Catholic and Protestant congregations. Nevertheless, it always remained a symbol of the salt officials and the influential men of the Hallstatt Salt Mountain. Until 1939, the church was under the patronage of the Hallstatt Saltworks; since then, it has been entrusted to the care of the parish and its many supporters.

Setting and Beauty

Seen from the lake, Hallstatt reveals its unique character: nestled closely against the mountainside and distinguished by its two churches. On the lakeshore stands the Protestant Church of Christ, while high above on the rocky promontory rises the Catholic Church of St Mary.

Together, these two churches form a powerful ecumenical image:

• Mary, the bearer of Christ, points us to her Son.

• Christ, the Word of God made flesh, unites believers across denominational boundaries.

Thus, the two churches do not represent division but rather a shared witness to the Christian faith on the shores of Lake Hallstatt.

Particularly striking is the late Romanesque tower of St Mary's Church, which received its present roof following the great fire of 1750. The lofty nave projects boldly above the rocky cliff, while on the lakeside a monumental fresco of Saint Christopher adorns the choir. Surrounded by beech, spruce, and fir trees, the church forms a unique harmony of nature and architecture.

Anyone standing at the eastern end of the church and allowing their gaze to wander across the lake cannot help but feel a deep sense of gratitude—gratitude to the Creator of this magnificent landscape and to the courageous and faithful people who built this remarkable church.