Dom der Wachau – Pfarrkirche St. Veit

The parish church of Krems St. Veit, also known as the "Cathedral of the Wachau", is one of the landmarks of the town of Krems and the largest parish church in the diocese of St. Pölten. The parish church of St. Veit in the town of Krems an der Donau is a Roman Catholic church and dates back to a donation by Emperor Henry II in 1014. It was not until 1178 that St. Vitus was named as the titular saint of the church. All that remains of the medieval church is the lower part of the tower, which dates back to the early 13th century. Due to the poor condition of the building, it was completely demolished and rebuilt (1616-1630) according to the plans of Cypriano Biasino from Milan.

From the outside, the church appears to be an austere, early Baroque building, but the interior dates back to the 18th century. The work of the Passau sculptor and architect Joseph Matthias Götz (high altar, choir stalls, pulpit) from 1733 and the decoration of the church with ceiling frescoes were significant. They are by Martin Johann Schmidt ("Kremser Schmidt") and were created in 1787, while the high altarpiece (1734) is by Johann Georg Schmidt ("Wiener Schmidt"), an older contemporary, although there is no relationship between them. The black marble side altar in the left transept deserves special mention. It was originally located in the "Bründlkapelle" of the Capuchin monastery Und, which was transferred here in 1796 when the monastery was dissolved. The small statuette of the Virgin Mary (Bohemian, around 1420) was also placed here, which formed the center of Marian devotion in the monastery of Und as the "Maria Bründl" image of grace.

There is a small chapel on the north-east side of the church, which was created in 1739 for the group of figures of Anna Maria reading and teaching. This is a stone sculpture from the first half of the 14th century which, as a document of the late Gothic period, has a particularly high status in the artistic development of Krems.

Church services: Sunday: 08:00, 10:00 and 19:00