Point 3 - Catholic parish church “Mariä Himmelfahrt” (Assumption of the Virgin Mary)

Catholic parish church “Mariä Himmelfahrt” (Assumption of the Virgin Mary)

You reach our Catholic church via the wide, 64-step flight of steps with seven landings and a baroque statue of Christ. The church was built between 1735 and 1741 in the Bohemian baroque style and has characterized the townscape ever since.

Initially it was adorned with just one ridge turret. Two neo-Gothic towers were added between 1866 and 1868 and today rise 48 metres into the air. Four bells have been ringing three times a day ever since, calling Christians to worship.

A special feature of the parish church is the carillon, made of 29 bronze bells which hang in the south tower of the church. The carillon was installed in 1991 to mark the 250th anniversary of the consecration of the church. In summer, it usually rings out on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 3 pm and on Saturdays at around 5 pm.

The interior of the church has some very remarkable works of art, above all a magnificent pulpit richly decorated with rococo-style wood carvings. The high altar is crowned by a gloriole and images of the Holy Trinity and the Assumption of Mary into heaven.

In the chancel there are impressive figures of St Peter, St Paul, St Vitus, St Joseph, St Joachim, St Wenceslas and St John Nepomuk, and on the pillars are the four Western church fathers St Augustine, St Ambrose, St Gregory the Great and St Jerome, as well as St Boniface and St Benno.

The church has around 400 seats and an organ built in 1975 by Orgelbau Eule from Bautzen with 31 stops and 2,066 pipes. A Way of the Cross, which was made in 1896, runs along the outside of the church.

In the churchyard, where several bishops have also found their final resting place, there are several valuable tombs.

Numerous traditions are still a lively part of parish life today: the search for a hostel during Advent season, the carol singers, Corpus Christi or the pilgrimages or St Martin's procession.