Liebfrauenkirche, Roman Catholic parish church in Gernsbach, Germany

The Liebfrauenkirche is a three-aisled pillar basilica whose four western bays date from around 1388 and whose three eastern bays were added in 1833 by architect August Moosbrugger. Massive sandstone columns carry the ribbed vault to a height of 9.75 metres. Outside, a sturdy bell tower with a steep pointed roof and clock faces stands beside a white-walled nave with pointed tracery windows; inside, reddish sandstone arches and a rose window above the altar.

Margarethe, widow of Count Wilhelm II of Eberstein, and Margrave Rudolf VII of Baden had the church built in 1388; a 1487 document suggests it began as a pilgrimage chapel. After Gernsbach turned Protestant around 1556, it remained Catholic and became a burial place for Catholic Ebersteins. Lightning struck the tower in 1626, French troops plundered the town during the Thirty Years' War, and a 1640 agreement assigned this church to Catholics and St. Jakob to Protestants. August Moosbrugger restored and extended it in 1833, and Heinz Gaiser led the 1971–1972 renovation.

The church is dedicated to Mary of the Seven Sorrows, celebrated on 15 August. A 1487 document suggests it began as a pilgrimage chapel. Since 1640, a settlement has assigned St. Jakobskirche to Protestants and the Liebfrauenkirche to Catholics. In the choir stands a Pietà from the early 16th century, whose original paint was revealed during 1970s restoration.

The church's main entrance is on the north side and is easy to locate since it sits at the highest point of Gernsbach and is visible from most directions. The spacious interior with side aisles offers good circulation, making it comfortable to walk through and observe the details at your own pace.

The tympanum above the north portal shows the church's founders: the Eberstein rose with a mitre and the Baden shield with ibex horns. The tower's third floor has wide window niches with stone benches for guards and a projecting sill for resting weapons.