Burghausen - St. Jakobus

Around 1230 Emperor Conrad II ("Conrad the Elder") appointed the Counts of Burghausen as the financial administrators of the locality. This was an important place as the Salzach river was one of the important transport routes. All boats had to stop here and - pay the toll.

Another source of income was the trade-in salt from Hallein, in modern-day Austria. The salt was brought ashore in Burghausen and transported further overland.

The House of Wittelsbach took possession of the castle in 1180 and the surrounding valley settlements in 1229. In 1307, the pre-existing local law was codified as municipal law, and in the first half of the 14th century, Emperor Louis IV granted the town further privileges.

Under the last three Lower Bavarian dukes, Henry XVI the Rich (1393–1450), Louis IX the Rich (1450–1479) and George the Rich, (1479–1503), Burghausen experienced an expansion and golden age as the second capital of the duchy Bavaria-Landshut.

A baptistery existed here already in the early Middle Ages. A Romanesque church was consecrated in 1140. This church burned down almost completely in the town fire in 1353. In the same year, a new building was started. The erection of the tower started in 1470. The construction went up to the present gallery. Another city fire in 1504 damaged the church and the tower. The restored church was consecrated in 1511. During the Baroque period, the tower octagon and the onion dome were added. Now the tower reaches 79m

In 1851 the southern part of the nave collapsed. The restoration was done from 1853 to 1855. In 1855 the baroque furnishings were removed and the interior was renewed in a neo-Gothic style.