Fischerkanzel at the church

According to documentary evidence, the "Trunseo" abbey was already in existence by 632 A.D. Benedictine nuns from Erin convent in Salzburg came to Traunkirchen in 1020. In 1622 Jesuits from Passau took the convent over and the magnificent baroque church was established in its present form after the second fire in 1632. The Jesuit monastery was dissolved in 1773 since that it has served as a parish church. The high altar, build by Franz Preisl, is dedicated to the Crowning of our Lady; the side altars on the right and left side are dedicated to St. Ignatius and to St. John respectively. The most famous work in the church is the wood-carved "Fischerkanzel" (fishermen´s pulpit) which was created in 1753 by an unknown craftsman and portrays the "Miraculous Draught of Fishes".

FISHER'S PANCEL:

The famous fisherman's pulpit in the present parish church (former monastery church), was carved in 1753 by an unnamed artist. It depicts the miracle of the rich catch of fish. The apostles James and John in the boat pull up the net filled with fish. Christ stands in the background and Peter kneels in front of him.

The sound lid of the fisherman's pulpit is crowned by the statue of St. Francis Xavier, the Jesuit missionary apostle to India and Japan. Four brown and black figures, the representatives of the Far East, sit at his feet. In front of the saint is a large crab holding a cross in its claw. From the life of Francis Xavier it is told that a ship he was on was brought into great danger by a storm. To calm the storm he held his cross in the sea, and it was knocked out of his hand by a wave. After landing, a large crab returned the cross to the saint.