Ossuary, Hartberg

The late-Romanesque Karner stands south of Hartberg’s parish church in the town of Hartberg, Steiermark. Built on a small rise, its two-storey round form rises above the surrounding roofs. The lower level houses the ossuary, while the upper chapel is reached by a broad stone stair. The building’s shell is clad in local shell-lime stone, giving it a pale, solid look against the sky. The Karner’s first stones were laid on Easter Sunday 1167, its orientation fixed to the rising sun. Two building phases can be seen: the lower ossuary finished quickly, then work paused before the chapel and apse were raised by 1215. In the 1890s a sweeping restoration added the present stair and uncovered early-13th-century frescoes. The restorer Theophil Melicher added new scenes, including a Hell-mouth and several crowned riders, basing them on the Book of Revelation rather than the original programme. Inside, the chapel’s ring of frescoed panels runs round the curved wall above a painted band. At the centre sits Christ enthroned with apostles, a clear New-Testament scene. Below, a row of large crowned figures ride different beasts—lion, leopard, horse, boar, bull—recalling the four kingdoms of Daniel’s vision. The ossuary below is plain, its small chamber lined with the bones of earlier generations. From the stair landing the eye takes in the town’s rooftops and the rolling hills beyond.