Stadtpfarrkirche Freistadt, Parish church in Freistadt, Austria

The Stadtpfarrkirche Freistadt is a five-nave basilica with a Romanesque core and Gothic additions. Its east choir, rebuilt around 1501 by master mason Mathes Klayndl, was raised to 16 m and extended by 8 m, and has a net-rib vault and tracery windows. The two outer aisles are shortened to three window bays because the main square limited space.

Freistadt's citizens began building their own church shortly after the town was founded; it was first documented around 1288 at its consecration. The originally three-nave Romanesque basilica was Gothicised in the 14th and 15th centuries, and by 1522 a fifth, shortened nave had been added. Town fires on 13 September 1507 and 1 September 1516 destroyed the entire interior; only walls and vaults survived. Rebuilding fell in the Reformation era, and Baroque remodelling began in 1687.

The church is dedicated to Saint Catherine of Alexandria. Its high altar, carved by Hans Hens in 1641, stood 15 metres high and 7 metres wide until it was removed in 1875; the altarpiece of Catherine's martyrdom and glory by Adrian Bloemaert still hangs in the east choir. The Baroque furnishings added from 1687 include four side altars, confessionals and marble communion rails.

The church stands directly on the Hauptplatz, next to the former town hall that now houses the district court, and is entered from the square side. The shortened side aisles on the square side show how tightly the building was fitted into the plot. Visitors should allow time to walk around the exterior to see the east choir and the tower beside it.

The five-nave layout arose from space problems: by 1522 a shortened fourth and fifth nave, three window bays long, were added on each side, since the main square side left no room for full-length aisles. The high altar carved by Hans Hens in 1641 was 15 m high and 7 m wide; it was removed in 1875.