Pfarrkirche hl. Augustinus, Perchtoldsdorf, Protected church building in Perchtoldsdorf, Austria
The Pfarrkirche hl. Augustinus is a late Gothic hall church with a three-aisled, three-apse choir modelled on St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna. Its stone-block walls stand under steep roofs, with high traceried windows and buttresses. The west front has a keeled pointed portal and a blocked tracery window; two polygonal stair towers flank the nave. It has no tower of its own.
The church stands on the eastern courtyard of the former Perchtoldsdorf castle; a castle chapel dedicated to Mary was recorded as a parish in 1217. It was destroyed in 1236 during Frederick the Quarrelsome's punitive expedition against Otto I of Perchtoldsdorf, rebuilt and reconsecrated in 1270, and damaged again in 1290 after Otto III joined a noble revolt. The present Gothic church grew from the ducal chapel of St Nicholas, added 1336–1338 under Albert II, followed by the three-aisled choir consecrated in 1362 and the nave built from 1435 under pastor Thomas Ebendorfer and consecrated in 1449.
The church has no tower of its own; the bells hang in Perchtoldsdorf's fortified Wehrturm, built from about 1450 to 1521, in a 15 m bell frame of 1699/1700. Eight bells form a pentatonic series, including the 1686 Baroque Türkenglocke with images of St Augustine and St Catherine. In 1946 the parish was the first in the Archdiocese of Vienna to have a complete new peal cast after the war.
The building is open to visitors on certain days, with specific hours available from the Perchtoldsdorf municipality office. Keep in mind that the space is also used for religious services, so access may be limited at certain times.
The building came together through multiple construction phases, resulting in a mix of elements from different medieval periods. This gradual expansion remains visible today in the varied architectural sections.
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