The Wallfahrtskirche Christkindl near Steyr is a Baroque pilgrimage church, completed in 1708, with one very specific additional function: every December, the Austrian postal service operates an official post office inside the complex, postmarking letters and cards with the “Christkindl” stamp. Collectors and children worldwide send letters here specifically for that cancellation. The church was built around a wax infant figure that a local ironworker prayed to for healing in the 1690s. The Baroque interior has the full repertoire: ceiling frescoes, gilded stucco, elliptical nave. The Advent post office runs from December 1 to December 26. The church is 4 kilometers from Steyr’s old town (Altstadt), one of the best-preserved medieval market squares in Upper Austria. Free entry to the church; standard postage rates at the Advent office. Worth combining with a visit to Steyr itself, which most Austria itineraries skip entirely.
church in Steyr
Wallfahrtskirche Christkindl
A Baroque pilgrimage church near Steyr that has operated an official Austrian post office during Advent every year since 1950, postmarking hundreds of thousands of Christmas letters with the "Christkindl" cancellation stamp that children and collectors send from across the world.
- Type
- church
- Destination
- Steyr
- Cost
- Free to visit
- Founded
- 1708
- Era
- Baroque
- Address
- Christkindlweg 6, 4400 Steyr, 4400 Steyr
- Coordinates
- 48.0383, 14.3875