St. Georg (Frohnleiten)
The Church of St. Georg is a Roman Catholic branch church in the village of Adriach in the Frohnleiten community in Styria . It was built at the beginning of the 11th century by Count Markwart IV and is one of the oldest preserved churches in Styria.
history
The church was built around 1050 by Count Markwart IV and was originally a branch of the Gratwein parish church . Between 1060 and 1076 it became an independent parish, to which the Katharinenkirche and the now no longer preserved church of St. Mauritius in Frohnleiten were also subordinate as branches. In the 18th century in particular, Adriach was a popular place of pilgrimage, which was also visited several times by Empress Maria Theresa .
In the course of the reforms carried out by Emperor Joseph II , the Adriach parish went to the Servite monastery in Frohnleiten in 1785 . Since the Adriach church was no longer needed, there was a public auction on April 13, 1787, at which three farmers bought it and thus saved it from destruction. Later it was handed over to the municipality of Adriach on condition that it was responsible for its maintenance. Since then, the church in Adriach has been a branch of the Frohnleitner parish church . Adriach later came to Rothleiten by amalgamating the municipalities , which is now a cadastral municipality of Frohnleiten.
A fundamental restoration of the church building began in 1978 and was completed in 1985. The "Association of Friends of the Church of Adriach", founded on this occasion, also made it its task to have exact plan recordings made, which should be used as a further basis for researching the older building sections and for structural renovation. For this purpose there was an interdisciplinary cooperation between the association and several institutes of the Graz University of Technology . Exact building surveys, a thorough interior and exterior restoration, a structural renovation to secure the fabric of the building and a building archaeological investigation were carried out within seven years. During the static investigations, remains of older church buildings, such as the remains of a Romanesque crypt , were found in the rising masonry and below the current level of the floor. These were saved and made accessible in legible form.
A museum was set up because of finds discovered during the restoration work.
architecture
Outside
The hall church is surrounded by a defensive wall that encompasses the church courtyard. The four-storey Gothic church tower with a high wedge roof was built to the north of the nave and was built in the 15th century. It has a stone coffin cornice, which becomes a little narrower from the third floor. The sound windows are ogival and the bells date from the end of the 14th century and from the year 1474. On the outside of the choir there are strong, stepped buttresses. At the end of the choir, the baroque Florianialtar was added in the first third of the 18th century. It has wrought iron bars from the first quarter of the 19th century. The southern nave wall has baroque supporting pillars. There are also four initiation chapels and two Roman stones from the 1st and 2nd centuries on the outer wall .
There are also some gravestones on the outer wall. For example that of Niclas Wendl, who died in 1588, who is decorated with the representation of knee figures in front of the crucified Jesus as well as the personified Trinity on top . The relief on the tombstone of Paul Affenburger, who died in 1597, shows figures kneeling in front of the risen Jesus. Both tombstones, both that of Wendl and that of Affenburger, show Reformation content. The tombstone of Wenzel Ritter von Czerny († 1814) has a niche depicting a grieving woman. You can also find the tombstone of Johanna Sybold, who died in 1841, on the outer wall.
Inside
The interior of the church is elongated. The three-bay nave , which is essentially Romanesque , originally had a flat ceiling. Today it is spanned by a gothic net rib vault , probably from 1512, with removed vault ribs . The front arch is constricted. The uneven two-bay choir , dating from the 14th century, has a five-eighth end and is vaulted by a Gothic cross-ribbed vault with remote vaulted ribs. With the exception of two gothic, two-lane tracery windows located in the end of the choir , all of the church windows have been redesigned in Baroque style. To the north of the choir is the Gothic, two-bay sacristy . This is spanned by a ribbed vault with round keystones . The keystones have reliefs , one depicting an angel and the other depicting the Lamb of God . The gallery, sitting on two round pillars in the western part of the nave, dates from the third quarter of the 18th century and has a curved parapet. In the western yoke of the choir there are two further galleries, which also date from the third quarter of the 18th century. The Gothic arched portal in the western part of the nave is profiled and barred. In its tympanum there are three figure consoles and a fresco depicting St. Michael . The fresco probably dates from the 17th century and was restored in 1967.
To the south of the choir is the Gothic Joseph Chapel. This has two bays, six steps higher than the choir and vaulted with cross ribs. To the north of the church tower is the two-bay, Gothic Anna chapel which is vaulted with ribs. One of the round keystones of the vault is decorated with a stone cutting tool. The baroque Aloysius Chapel, which was built at the beginning of the 18th century, is located between the sacristy and the church tower. This is spanned by a mirror barrel which is decorated with stucco work designed in the style of Domenico Boscho . The passage to the nave can be blocked by a wrought iron grille from the beginning of the 18th century.
The nave, the choir and the Aloysius Chapel are decorated with rich frescoes designed by Joseph Adam Ritter von Mölk in 1769 and 1774. A large fresco in the nave shows the offering in the temple and the four evangelists in the corners . On the northern wall, in a niche painted in perspective, there is a representation of Christ on the scourge column . Various decorative paintings can be found on the free wall and ceiling surfaces. Two scenes from the life of St. George and two virtues are shown in the choir . Two fields in the Aloysius Chapel are decorated with depictions of Saint Aloysius . The chapel also features the coat of arms of the Barons of Haydegg, painted around 1700 and restored in 1980 .
There are several tombstones in the church interior. One from 1480 has a partially destroyed writing and is decorated with a three passport. The red marble tombstone of the brothers Tibol († 1501) and Leonhard († 1518) von Harrach is provided with a full-length relief of the two in armor. The tombstone of Caspar von Ratmansdorff, who died in 1548, with a relief half-figure in armor is made of white marble. A representation of knee figures in front of the crucified Jesus decorates the tombstone of Johann Huber, who died in 1590.
Furnishing
The high altar , built around 1773 to 1775, occupies the entire end of the choir and is attributed to Veit Königer . On it stand white statues of Saints Peter and Paul and of God the Father . The altarpiece showing St. George comes from Joseph Adam Ritter von Mölk. The free-standing tabernacle is from the same period as the high altar. The fasting image of Jesus in the garden of Getsemani at the high altar, attributed to Mölk, was created around 1764 and was restored in 1864 and 2006. The two side altars date from the middle of the 18th century. On the left altar is a copy of the miraculous image of Mariahilf from the Passau pilgrimage church, while on the right there is a portrait of Christ on the cross painted by Mölk in 1769. The altar of the Joseph chapel dates from the end and that of the Anna chapel from the third quarter of the 17th century. On the latter is a group of Anna selbdritt made around 1520 . The rococo altar of the Aloysius Chapel has an altar sheet painted by Mölk in 1768, which shows Saint Aloysius . The pulpit erected in the middle of the 18th century is attributed to Matthäus Krenauer . The organ was installed at the end of the 17th century and its works were changed in 1814. The choir stalls and the pews were made in the middle of the 18th century and have painted inlays .
There is also a statue of St. Anthony from the beginning of the 18th century and a canopy statue of the Virgin from the second quarter of the 18th century in the church. In the choir niche there is a life-size Pietà from the first third of the 18th century. Opposite the pulpit is a statue of St. John Nepomuk from around 1770. In the church there are several pictures. One of them was painted by Matthias Echter in 1692 and shows Saint Anthony kneeling in front of Our Lady . The painting of Noah who is walking to the ark is from the 17th century . The picture of the apostle Matthias comes from the second half of the 17th century . The votive picture with the holy walk is dated to the year 1709 . The portrait of the baptizing Franz Xaver dates from around 1700 , as does the painting of the birth of Christ made by Mölk . The image of St. Apollonia was painted in the Rococo style in the second half of the 17th century.
The church has a vestment given by Empress Maria Theresa in 1754 .
literature
- Kurt Woisetschläger, Peter Krenn (Ed.): Dehio Steiermark (excluding Graz) . Schroll, Vienna 1982, ISBN 3-7031-0532-1 , p. 7-8 .
Web links
- St. George's Church - Adriach. www.dekanat.at, accessed on June 16, 2013 (German).
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Holger Neuwirth & Friedrich Bouvier: Model Adriach. www.bks.tugraz.at, 1985, accessed on June 16, 2013 (German).
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l Kurt Woisetschläger, Peter Krenn (Ed.): Dehio Steiermark (excluding Graz) . Schroll, Vienna 1982, ISBN 3-7031-0532-1 , p. 7-8 .
- ↑ a b c St. George's Church - Adriach. www.dekanat.at, accessed on November 28, 2011 (German).
Coordinates: 47 ° 15 ′ 57.5 ″ N , 15 ° 18 ′ 25 ″ E