Pfarrkirche St. Stephan, Tulln, Gothic parish church in Tulln, Austria.
Pfarrkirche St. Stephan is a three-nave basilica in Gothic style with a tall choir featuring cross-ribbed vaulting and intricate stonework. The interior is defined by several marble altars positioned throughout the nave and side aisles.
Emperor Heinrich II transferred royal lands to the Passau diocese for church construction in the early 11th century, enabling one of the oldest Babenberg parish churches to be built. Gothic style was later integrated into the structure while the church maintained its central role in Tulln's religious life.
The stone double eagle above the west portal, holding "Turkish heads" in its talons, recalls Tulln's part in the relief of Vienna in 1683. It came from the Montecuccoli family and was moved from the high altar to the west facade in 1786. The statues flanking the portal, St. John Nepomuk and St. Charles Borromeo, came from the Wasserkapelle on the Danube.
The church stands in the centre of Tulln an der Donau, close to the Danube. The west front is the main orientation point: the two towers with their baroque helmets flank the west portal, where a stone double eagle with 'Turkish heads' in its claws sits above the entrance. The south side preserves the Romanesque half-columns and the stepped round-arch frieze.
The "Pummerin" bell hangs alone in the north tower, while all the other bells hang in the south tower. After the town fire of 1752 destroyed every old bell, Franz Wucherer of Vienna cast a new peal, using the remains of the old bells and metal donated by Empress Maria Theresa.
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