Parish Church of St. Sebastian

The Church of St. Sebastian is the parish church of Mühlbach am Hochkönig in Pongau. It is one of the municipality’s listed buildings.

The late Gothic parish church was constructed between 1519 and 1525.However, the peasant insurrection and a lack of funds stopped it from being completed.Construction was not finished until 1637.The church served as a branch of the parish church of Bischofshofen.It was named for Saint Sebastian.

It has been surrounded by a cemetery since 1785.Previously, the dead were buried at Bischofshofen.The tower, like the western axis of the nave, was erected to the old church as a neo-Gothic addition between 1881 and 1883 by foreman Ludwig Blum.

Between 1883 and 1888, the old Baroque interior was rebuilt with a neo-Gothic one.A notation indicates that it was created by Kufstein sculptor Josef Stumpf.The facility was rebuilt in the late 1960s using Old English principles.Neo-Gothic aspects, such as the high altar, had to be removed.

The parish church had substantial interior renovations from 1998 to 2000.A flat ceiling was erected with beautiful fields, a new organ gallery was created, and pieces of art were restored and reorganized.The organ was installed in 2003, when the remodeling work was done.The instrument was a gift from Salzburg’s Benedictine Archabbey of St. Peter.

The three stained-glass windows in the choir were added in 1969, based on designs by Salzburg artist Karl Weiser.The central window depicts Christ’s transfiguration, the left depicts the “fall,” or the introduction of sin into the world, and the right depicts Jesus’ crucifixion on the cross.

Saint images in Neo-Gothic style appear on four columns above the altar.The martyrs John and Paul are on the outside.They moved to Mühlbach in 2000 from Niedernsill.Saint Barbara and Saint Catherine, who have been regarded as Holy Helpers since the Middle Ages, are in the center.Saint Barbara, being the patron saint of miners, is also very important to the community.These two images, together with the knightly Sebastian, are drawn from the neo-Gothic high altar.

A baroque statue of Archangel Michael from the first half of the 18th century may be seen in the chancel, above in the center.The chancel also houses the church’s earliest item of art.This is a mid- 15th century late Gothic statue of Saint Rupert.The scourged Jesus and Our Lady of Sorrows statues are from the early 18th century.

The nave also houses works of art from various periods of the Baroque period, such as the crucifix on the triumphal arch from 1689 and the 17th-century Madonna with Child Jesus in a Halo.On the north wall is the old high altarpiece showing Saint Sebastian.

The 14 Stations of the Cross pictures are set on the nave’s walls.They are by an anonymous painter and are painted in late baroque composition.

During the summer, four prang poles are installed on the walls.They are wrapped in multicolored woolen ribbons and curled at the top, as opposed to the Lungau prang poles, which are ornamented with flowers.On Corpus Christi, the Assumption of Mary, and Thanksgiving, the prang poles are carried in processions.