Pfarrkirche hl. Zeno, Kappel, Ferlach

The parish church of Kappel an the Drau stands in the village of Kappel an the Drau, part of the town of Ferlach in the district of Klagenfurt-Land, Carinthia. It belongs to the Ferlach/Borovlje deanery in the Diocese of Gurk-Klagenfurt and is dedicated to Saint Zeno. The building is protected as a listed monument. The church’s origins reach back to the 9th century, though the first written mention comes from 1169. Traces of the earlier church survive in reliefs and keystones on the outer walls. The present structure was erected in 1769 and consecrated the following year. In 1968 a major renovation took place, and in 1996 the sanctuary was partly exposed and its late-baroque polychrome decoration restored. The large baroque church has a straight-ended nave with rounded corners. Symmetrical chapel additions flank the north and south sides, and a sacristy projects to the south. A west tower with an onion dome shelters three round-arched arcades at ground level. Inside, the high altar of about 1670 shows carved strapwork and figures of Saints Bernard and Benedict, while the altar painting of Saint Zeno exorcising the emperor’s daughter was refreshed in 1837. The marble mensa and wooden tabernacle date from 1898. Outside, medieval spolia and a painted founding legend add layers of history to the walls.