St. Peter Parish Church

The baroque church in Breitenbach is consecrated to St. Peter. Originally, the parish of Breitenbach belonged to the diocese of Freising. Up until 1891, the church in Breitenbach was also the religious centre for the neighbouring parishes Brandenberg, Steinberg, Mariathal and Kramsach Voldöpp. Since 1818, the parish of Breitenbach has been part of the Archdiocese of Salzburg.

The church was first mentioned in a document dating back to 1157. The late Gothic reconstruction took place approximately between 1480 - 1500. In 1737, a new building was erected under the Breitenbach master mason Hans Hueber. However, in 1798 the building took on its full baroque splendour after the Gothic tower was redesigned by master builder Georg Hueber. Remnants of medieval walls remain.

The parish church has a south tower and is surrounded by the cemetery. To the immediate right of the main entrance is a baroque cemetery chapel, which is used as a funeral hall. The two-storey sacristy was built in the southwestern part of the building.

The church interior is adorned with frescoes and paintings by the artists Matthias Kirchner (Kitzbühel) and Franz Fuchs. The ceiling paintings in the choir depict scenes from the life of St. Peter (ca. 1740). The stucco framing dates from 1958 (plasterer Rudolf Haas).

The late Baroque altarpiece by the Rattenberg carpenter Jakob Diechtl contains figures carved by the Bad Tölz sculptor Josef Anton Fröhlich. The two side altars – to the left the Lay Carmelites’ St. Mary’s Altar and to the right an altar dedicated to Saint Joseph - date from around 1870 and were made by the local cabinet-maker Margreiter.

In the course of the last church renovation in 2002, the people’s altar, Ambon, baptismal fountain and lamps were also redesigned by the 1957 in Breitenbach born sculptor Erich Ruprechter ("Untermoos").

Between the Greek letters alpha and omega, which stand for the beginning and the end, Ruprechter used a meander, a symbol recalling the twisting and turning path of the Maeander River in Asia Minor. In this case, the ornament represents the flow of life.

The striking organ was elaborately restored in 2004 by Christian Erler from Schlitters.