Sankt Stefan (Hofkirchen)
St. Stefan is a Gothic branch church of the Kaindorf parish in the municipality of Kaindorf in Eastern Styria .
history
The church was built in 1384 in quarry stone and has remained unplastered. Therefore the scaffold holes are visible. It is one of the few churches in Styria whose original Gothic condition has largely been preserved. During renovation work in 1958, frescos that were created around 1530 were uncovered. The frescoes in the choir represent the Last Judgment. The floor of large stone slabs was laid in 1722. The sacristy was added to the church in 1771. The high altar was designed by the Hartberg sculptor Johann Feiner and the carpenter Georg Maurer in 1647.
Founding legend
A legend tells how the church was built:
“A knight from Vockenberg, who had only one daughter, lived in constant feud with his neighbors. One day on a stormy night he went out again to attack one of his opponents, but before he left the castle he carefully locked the child in his bunker so that no one would harm him. But now the same enemy who was attacked had the same intention; he sneaked a detour to the Vockenberger castle and set it on fire. When the flames were already shining through the window of the bower, the knight's maiden, who had fallen asleep, woke up and looked for a way out. But nowhere seemed to him salvation possible. It rattled the mighty door, but in vain. Suddenly the arms saw a strong horseshoe; she grasped it with renewed courage, blew the door with it and escaped from the range of the flames. When the knight returned home later and the daughter told him she would be saved, he vowed to build a church, carried it out and then hung the horseshoe on the altar, from where it later came to the side portal. "
Web links
Coordinates: 47 ° 14 ′ 41 ″ N , 15 ° 53 ′ 2 ″ E