Parish Church with the Danube Cross

The Church that you see was built by stages with the main parts erected in late Gothic-style around 1490.

A chiselled inscription can be seen in the cornerstone above the Sacristy door, showing the consecration date of 1490 in German language and Gothic letters.

The Church was dedicated to St. John the Baptist and Bishop Nicolas. When Emperor Josef II decreed a new organization of the parishes in 1784, Aschach became an individual parish. Like most churches the late Gothic structure was extensively 'restored' in Baroque times. The Baroque cupola was added as early as in 1750.

The most noticeable and striking feature of the Church´s interior is the "Danube Cross". Within a severe flooding in the year 1693, two boatmen discovered a heavy wooden cross and saved it from the river. The frail artist Stefan Mitterbauer had the cross restored and was completely healed within the course of this work. He attributed his healing with the cross, thus giving it the name "Danube Cross" or "Miraculous Cross". It was completed in 1701 with Baroque ornaments and decorations and placed above the high altar.