| The Loretokirche or Loreto Church is attached to a nunnery in the Paris-Lodron Straße near Linzergasse, just behind St. Sebastian. The convent church (1633-48), built by P. Lodron for the bordering convent, the Order of St. Clare. The nunnery was considered to be the strictest in Salzburg. The Loreto Church is a plain building with one, central nave and three attached chapels. It was severely damaged at the great fire of 1818 and for a second time by bombardments during World War II in 1944. Between 1947 and 1949, the church was re-constructed according to its original appearance.
The nave has a wooden ceiling and an octagonal choir with a richly decorated altar from the 17th century. The nunnery holds a little Christ as a child statue made of ivory, the so-called "Loretokindl" ("Loreto child"). It is carried into the church at every service. |