Description of the attraction
The Church of St. Mary of the Mother of Good Advice is located in the small village of Böckstein, located three kilometers south of the popular resort of Bad Gastein. The settlement itself can be reached by rail, but the church is located quite far from the local station - about one and a half kilometers.
This graceful Catholic church rises on a hill that is part of the large Austrian mountain range Hohe Tauern. It was built in the early classicism style in 1764-1767. The construction work was supervised by the famous Austrian architect Wolfgang Hagenauer, the founder of classicism in Salzburg.
The building itself is a small but very graceful octagonal structure, crowned with a huge dome, over which rises a tiny superstructure with a dial, which also functions as a lantern.
Among the interior spaces, it is worth noting the entrance hall, decorated with arched pediments. In the eastern part of the temple, there is a two-story sacristy, and in front of it there are choirs. The dome of the cathedral, supported by graceful columns with elaborate capitals, was painted in 1765.
Interestingly, the main altar of the temple was made in 1765 by the architect's brother, Johann Baptist Hagenauer and his wife Rosa. Also highlighted is the side altar of 1776, depicting the Betrothal of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Entry into the Temple. The pulpit is decorated with carved bas-reliefs symbolizing the divine virtues, the ten commandments and the four evangelists.
The walls of the church bear the coats of arms and monograms of various archbishops of Salzburg and noble families. Several tombstones and monuments dating back to the end of the 18th century have survived inside the temple. The bell was cast in 1766 and the organ has been in operation since 1895. Interestingly, this church is also known under a different name - "the church on the hill", this name it owes due to its geographical location.
