The ruins of St. Cecilia's Church are located between Böheimkirchen and Pyhra in the Perersdorf district, just a few hundred meters from the West Autobahn. The remaining ruins date from a 14th-century church. The church is a listed building.
The church was first mentioned in 1280. However, according to historical documents, construction is believed to have taken place between 1250 and 1260.
Records also survive of a Nicholas, parish priest of Pyhra, who, on St. Pölten's Day in 1388, with the approval of Abbot Wolfgang of Göttweig, undertook for himself and his successors the obligation to celebrate a Holy Mass every Saturday in the church of "St. Cecilgen, which lies near the Gretzhof" in honor of St. Cecilia.
In 1440, the Lords of Wald first came into contact with St. Cecilia.
In 1530, Göttweig Abbey had to sell some properties to pay the war contributions demanded by the sovereign. The holdings around Pyhra were sold to the knight Wilhelm Greiss zu Wald. (His gravestone is now located in the church of Pyhra.) Thus, the "Greisse zu Wald" became patrons of the churches.
In 1683, the Turks ravaged the area around Phyra. They reduced St. Cecilia's Church and the manor farm of the Wald estate to rubble. The church was partially rebuilt the following year. It was given a Baroque makeover in the 18th century.
Finally, in 1805, during the Napoleonic Wars, the church was once again plundered and destroyed by French troops.
However, oral tradition tells a different story, namely that Emperor Joseph II deemed the branch church of St. Cecilia superfluous and, due to a lack of funds for its upkeep, left it to decay.
Translated by Google •
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