Starhemberg-Kapelle und Gruft in der Pfarrkirche

THE STARHEMBERG GRAVE MONUMENTS AND THE GRUFT INTHE PARISH CHURCH OF HELLMONSÖDT
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the church was "the most important burial place of the Starhembergs" (Christian Kieslinger: "Die Starhembergischen Grabdenkmäler aus dem 15., 16. und 17. Jh. in der Pfarrkirche Hellmonsödt" Publication of the Czech University of Brno, 2002)




Description:
The first known Starhemberg Gundaker of Steyr married Adelheid of Wildberg-Haunsperg and after 1198 had his seat at Wildberg Castle, the oldest castle in the Mühlviertel, built by the Haunspergs in 1135. Gundaker had a church built in Hellmonsödt around 1212, which was rebuilt in 1441 by Hanns IV von Starhemberg; the crypt chapel with the crypt below was added in 1499 and extended at the end of the 16th century. On the walls of the chapel are eight beautifully crafted marble tombstones, made by unknown stone sculptors. Further epitaphs can be seen on the outer walls of the church. The life-size depictions of the figures in full knight's armour, the inscriptions, the groups of figures with saints and the coats of arms impress every visitor. These "figurative grave slabs of excellent quality" (Benno Ulm) from the years 1474 to 1675 are among the most important historical monuments in Upper Austria and are still very valuable silent witnesses to a bygone era. The oldest tomb slab, that of Elisabeth von Starhemberg from 1418, is located on the eastern outer wall and "tells the story": After the birth of Christ one thousand four hundred and eighty years ago on the Monday after the feast of St Peter, the noble lady Elisabeth, born of Hohenberg, died in the honour of the noble lord Gundakcher von Starhemberg and is buried here.
There are ten coffins in the crypt : nine coffins with inscriptions telling interesting facts about the lives of those buried here; the tenth coffin, that of an infant, has no inscription, but contains a special Austrian feature: a 450-year-old child's mummy. It can be viewed through a glass cover. The crypt was restored in 2017 and the little mummy, the dress and the coffin were cleaned by a restorer. At the beginning of 2018, a mummy expert from Munich carried out a scientific examination of the little Starhemberg boy, and the child's age and identity have now been established.
Address: Hellmonsödt parish church, market square
Contact:
Hellmonsödt parish office, Tel. 07215 2252, e-mail: pfarre.hellmonsödt@dioezese-linz.at
Tue, Thu 08.00-10.30; Fri 17.30-19.00

Hellmonsödt municipal office, Tel. 07215 2255-0, e-mail: gemeinde@hellmonsoedt.ooe.gv.at
Mon, Tue, Wed, Fri 08.00-12.00; Thurs 15.00-19.00

Mülleder family 07215 3502 e-mail: josefine.muelleder@aon.at
Opening hours/guided tours:
Visits to the crypt chapel: daily from 8:00 to 17:00 (not during church services);

Guided tours of the crypt chapel and crypt by appointment, duration approx. 50 minutes;
Admission: voluntary donations; guided tour for adults € 2.00, schoolchildren € 1.00