Kirche St. Jakob

A branch church of the parish of Pichl bei Wels. Church services are held there regularly in summer. The church is also used for baptisms and weddings.

St Jakob in Unterirrach lies on the mountainside of the Irrach. According to tradition, St Jakob was founded by the lords of Haiding Castle. From 1602, the lords of Etzelsdorf and Haiding were buried in St Jakob's Church (church crypt). Gravestones, the portrait of a six-year-old son of the count from 1629 and an - albeit empty - crypt bear witness to this.
The church has late Gothic architectural features. The altar area is built in the Gothic style, the choir has a ribbed vault. The light-coloured nave was added later and has a flat ceiling. In 1743, the Gothic windows were bricked up and the interior was decorated in Baroque style (Schwanthaler family).
In the niche of the high altar is a sculpture of St James the Elder from 1743, above which is a statue of the Virgin Mary with child. Two putti and several angel heads adorn the altar. The figures of St Charles Borromeo and St Nepomuk stand to the left and right on the side altars, again decorated with numerous depictions of angels and angel heads. Also noteworthy are the pulpit figures, the "Ecce Homo" (= the Man of Sorrows) and the colourful wooden relief crusade.
The church was restored in 1903 in the style of the time. The interior was colourfully painted. The last renovation to date was completed in 1974.