Description of the attraction
The parish church of Saints Bartholomew and Nicholas stands in the very center of the tiny ski resort of Saalbach - Hinterglemm. She is located on a hill, and therefore the ascent to this church can be quite steep. An old cemetery is laid out around the building.
The church itself is an elegant Baroque building, in the exterior of which the choir towering above the main nave stands out. While the nave itself is not particularly tall or long, the choir room is quite spacious and high, a couple of levels higher than the nave itself. It is made in a semicircular shape, and long lanceolate windows are cut through the walls. The choirs themselves are crowned with a dome, which is pointed to the very top. Under the choirs there is an underground chapel and crypt.
The oldest part of the church is its bell tower; it is believed that its lower tiers have survived from the Middle Ages and are made in the Gothic style. However, it was greatly increased in size in the 17th century, and in 1777 it was also crowned with an elegant semicircular dome, typical of the Austrian Baroque.
The interior of the church is made mainly in the Baroque style. The right side altar was completed earlier than anything else, back in 1691, while two other altars, including the main altar and the pulpit, were completed as early as 1720.
The church, painted in a light yellow color, is considered to be a kind of distinctive feature of this resort. Surrounded by an old cemetery, wooded hills and mountains with snowy peaks, the church seems to be in the center of an amazing landscape, the beauty of which attracts thousands of tourists.
Now the church of Saints Bartholomew and Nicholas is considered a monument of the history and architecture of Austria and is protected by the state.
