Reformed Church – Oberwart (Felsőőr)
The Reformed church of Oberwart (Felsőőr) is the oldest building in present-day Austria in continuous use as a Protestant church. It is one of the most important community places of the Hungarians of Burgenland, where congregational life is still bilingual.
During the Reformation Oberwart became almost entirely Reformed. From 1681 the congregation was allowed to practise its faith as an articular site with the express permission of the Diet of Sopron. Services were first held in a rented barn, and in the early 18th century a thatched wooden prayer house with a painted coffered ceiling was built.
The present church was built between 1771 and 1773 under the direction of Christoph Preising, master builder from Pinkafeld (Pinkafő), and consecrated on 10 January 1773. As the only articular congregation in present-day Austria, Oberwart was able to build a new church even before the Edict of Tolerance of 1781. The onion-domed west tower was added in 1808–1809 by Matthias Preising.
The sounding board of the late Baroque pulpit of 1773 is crowned by a carved pelican. The organ was built by Friedrich Werner of Graz in 1873, for the centenary of the consecration. Until Burgenland became part of Austria, congregational life was conducted in Hungarian; it has been bilingual ever since, and the community has some 1,400 members today.
Visiting: The church stands in the centre of Oberwart, in Reformierte Kirchengasse. For service times and church visits, please contact the Reformed parish.
Sources: Wikipedia (German) – the church · Wikipedia (German) – the congregation
Photo: Thomas Ledl / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Photo: Nxr-at / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Town:
Oberwart (Felsőőr)