Wallfahrtskirche Christkindl, Baroque pilgrimage church in Steyr, Austria
The Wallfahrtskirche Christkindl is a baroque parish church in Steyr, Austria, built on a circular floor plan with four apses and two corner towers. The interior is topped by a central dome, which gives the space an open, rounded shape quite different from a typical nave-based church.
Construction started in 1702 under architect Carlo Antonio Carlone, who died before the work was finished. Jakob Prandtauer took over and brought the project to its consecration in 1709.
The name Christkindl comes directly from the wax figure of the Christ Child kept inside the tabernacle, surrounded by rays of light above the main altar. Pilgrims from across the region still come today to pray before this figure, which is treated as the spiritual center of the entire building.
The church draws the most visitors during Advent, when mechanical nativity scenes are running and a seasonal Christmas post office opens nearby. Outside of this period, the church remains open year-round and is much quieter to visit.
A pine tree trunk is still visible inside the main altar, in the fork of which Ferdinand Sertl placed a small devotional figure of the Christ Child in 1691. The entire church was later built around this tree, making it the literal foundation of the building.
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