Heinrichskirche

Emperor Henry II (973/1002-1024) from the Bavarian branch of the Ottonians was the only German emperor to be canonised with his wife Cunegonde. Henry, who is buried in Bamberg Cathedral, is the patron saint of St Henry's Church.

The choir (= the altar room mostly located in the east) was built after 1400. A small Carmelite monastery was built in 1494. In 1897, the dilapidated nave was demolished and the current west façade was redesigned. Due to the raising of the banks of the Danube, the church is now below street level.
Next to the church was a cemetery where the drowned, washed up and poor were buried. It often happened that sailors drowned in the Danube. For a long time, raftsmen had to be non-swimmers so as not to abandon their goods in case of danger. In 1905-1936, the pillory stood on this former cemetery, which is now back on the market square.
In 1694, a fisherman found a statue of the Virgin Mary washed ashore in the Enns estuary. A place of pilgrimage developed around this "Maria Trost", including processions from Passau. The Heinrichs Church was one of the richest churches in the Machland region thanks to the income from pilgrims' donations. The statue of the Virgin Mary was moved to the parish church of St Nikola in 1892. Today, the statue stands on the north wall of the church, having been heavily reworked during the relocation.
In the 16th century, the Heinrichskirche was the church of the Protestants of Mauthausen. In 1732, Emperor KARL VI (1685/1711-40), father of Maria Theresa (1717/1740-1780), attended a mass in the Heinrichskirche. The church was closed in 1786 under Emperor JOSEF II (1741/1764-1790), but was reopened in 1787 following protests from the people of Mauthausen. The Gothic choir of the former Heinrichskirche, which today forms the chapel, is single-bay with a 5/8 end. The polygon (polygon through 5/8 end) covers a hipped saddleback roof. The pointed arched, shallow porch is closed by a baroque-style lattice gate.