Saints Peter and Paul Church, Protestant church building in Schladming, Austria.
Saints Peter and Paul Church is a Lutheran hall church with 1,000 seats, making it the largest Protestant church in Styria. Its tower, built from 1852 to 1856 to a design by Hieronymus Beck, predates the church itself, which was built from 1859 to 1862 to plans by Karl Ganzenberg. The design follows the Protestant parish church of Wels but uses round-arched forms instead of Gothic ones, and the nave has galleries in the side aisles with the organ on a second level.
The church traces its origins to 1522 when early evangelical services began among miners influenced by Martin Luther's teachings, making it one of Austria's earliest Reformation sites before the current structure was completed in 1862.
The four narrow panels show Saints Peter and Paul, the wider ones the Crucifixion and the Brazen Serpent; their backs carry grotesque paintings and inscriptions. The word "allein" was scraped away during the Counter-Reformation, when Catholic authorities sought to erase the doctrine of salvation by faith alone.
The church holds 1,000 seats, making it the largest Protestant church in Styria. Its tower went up first, from 1852 to 1856, before the nave was added between 1859 and 1862, so the entrance side faces the older medieval parish church nearby. Visitors should look for the tower's encircling gallery, added to express the community's renewed confidence.
The church houses one of the few remaining organs built by Ludwig Mauracher in 1861 and an altar designed by Christian Friedrich von Leins depicting Christ at the Mount of Olives.
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