Description of the attraction
The Ursuline Church of Markuskirche is located in the northern part of Salzburg's Old Town and is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The distance to the cathedral does not exceed one kilometer. The church itself, which previously served as a Catholic cathedral, has been transferred to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic diocese since 1999.
Earlier on this site stood the old Cathedral of St. Markus, adjacent to Mount Mönchsberg. It was built in 1616-1618, but was destroyed during a landslide in 1669. Therefore, thirty years later, the construction of a new church began, which later became part of the monastery of St. Ursula.
The church itself is located in a rather narrow place - on the one hand, it is separated by the sheer cliff of Mount Mönchsberg, and on the other, by a high monastery wall. Therefore, the church building itself is not very wide. It is made in the Baroque style with a distinctive bell tower and a brightly decorated façade with graceful Ionic columns and a triangular pediment crowned with figures of saints.
The interior of the church dates back to the middle of the 18th century. In 1756 the dome was painted - it depicts the apotheosis of St. Ursula. The main altar is dedicated to Saint Markus and was completed only after 10-12 years. The side altars are dedicated to Saint Augustine and Saint Ursula. It is also worth paying attention to the pulpit, luxuriously decorated with stucco molding and figurines of angels.
Since 1999 the temple was taken over by the Greek Catholic Church, in 2000 a monumental wooden iconostasis was erected here, made by a master from Ukrainian Lvov. The building of the former monastery houses the Museum of Natural History of the city of Salzburg.
