Morzger Pfarrkirche Church
The Morzger Pfarrkirche is a parish church in the city of Salzburg. It marks the historic centre of a village called Morzg; this village became part of the city in 1939 and gave its name to an entire district. The district is among the most expensive and exclusive residential areas of Salzburg. However, it comprises of several neighbourhoods that were historically not part of the village. The district Morzg therefore lacks clearly outlined borders and a centre. The Morzger Pfarrkirche is thus as far as a "spiritual centre" goes.
The church is dedicated to St. Vitus and was first recorded in a document dating back to 1139. The church pre-dates this year, though, as the document only reports the opening ceremony of an extension through Bishop Roman I of Gurk. At that point, the area and church was property of Stift Nonnberg, the famous Benedictine nunnery. In 1267, the Counts of Plain attacked Salzburg and burnt down much of the Medieval city. The 12th century church of Morzg was destroyed by the fire.
Development of the Morzger Pfarrkirche
In subsequent years, the church was re-built in Gothic style. The current tower of the Morzger Pfarrkirche originates in this Gothic building. The rest of the building was created in the course of a drastic refurbishment (or rather: demolition and re-building from scratch) of the old, Gothic church in 1683. The resulting building is a Baroque church with a Gothic tower - which got a late-Baroque onion dome in 1764.
Even more recent additions came in 1922, when Anton Faistauer, a local artist, created new frescos for the church. The Morzger Pfarrkirche contains a Gothic altar made in 1480; it was modelled after the one in the Augustinian Church in Nuremberg. It is the only Gothic altar of the city of Salzburg that is still at the site that it was made for. The central figure in the altar is St. Vitus, flanked by St. George (patron of horses) and St. Leonhard (patron of cattle).
In case you go to the Morzger Pfarrkirche, note the Roman tombstone that is incorporated into the wall of the church. It depicts a dolphin and dates back to the 2nd or 3rd century. The site of the parish church was originally part of the Roman farmhouse Villa Marciago, from which the name Morzg is derived.
Hidden Treasures of Salzburg
Links
http://www.pfarre-morzg.at/
Website of the Morzg parish
