Sisi church marks 125 years despite endless repairs

The Kaiserin Elisabeth Memorial Church, one of Lower Austria’s most distinctive buildings, has marked 125 years since its inauguration while continuing to require repairs because of its exposed location. ORF reported that the church stands beside the mountain railway station on the Schneeberg at an altitude of 1,796 metres.

Hikers pass the small church, while passengers on the rack railway can see it during the ascent. The parish of Puchberg am Schneeberg, in the Neunkirchen district, celebrated the anniversary with a service in the summer.

Construction of the church began in 1899, two years after the Schneebergbahn opened. It was built as a memorial to Empress Elisabeth, who was murdered in Geneva in 1898. After two years of construction, the church was inaugurated on September 5, 1901.

However, the building was not fully completed at that point. Its stained-glass windows and paintings were added in 1907, followed by a star mosaic made from Venetian glass in the dome in 1914.

The church’s three-layer masonry is exposed to severe wind, snow and ice. Its outer and inner walls are each made of half a metre of brick, with the space between them filled with stones, according to Puchberg parish priest Wolfgang Berger. During renovation work, the masonry was stabilised after the bricks had begun to crumble.

Between 2011 and 2019, about 600,000 euros was invested in the facade and foundations to preserve the building for future generations, Berger said.

The church has been described as Lower Austria’s highest building site. Despite the extensive work, it remains a visible landmark of the Schneeberg and the highest church in Lower Austria. Its exposed position means there will likely always be something else to repair.