Kapellen der Burg Clam

The two chapels inside Burg Clam stand in the medieval stronghold high above the Klambach valley in Upper Austria. The older chapel, dating from the 14th century, was found in 1934 on the fourth floor of the palace block, its large wall paintings from 1370 hidden beneath plaster until rediscovered and restored in 1951 by Josef Fastl. The frescoes show biblical scenes and saints under the influence of the Bohemian school, while Andreas Hauser had already obtained a papal licence for masses in the chapel after a journey to Avignon in 1360. The later chapel, built between 1420 and 1491, has served continuously since its consecration. The Gothic chapel of the Holy Cross stands on the first floor between two eastward towers of the castle’s Gothic east wing, which rises above the steep drop to the Klambach. Its three-sided plan fits the space between the towers, and in 1630 a polygonal choir with late-Gothic pointed windows was added. Both chapel and choir carry ribbed vaults whose keystones include a star, rosette, the Schwurhand Gottes and the Lamb of God. The altar of 1631, carved by Hans Heinz of Linz, shows a Crucifixion group with the coats of arms of Clam and Kageneck, flanked by life-size figures of Peter and Paul from the Schwanthaler workshop. Visitors enter a room alive with colour and craftsmanship. Red Adneter marble marks the tomb of Christoph Perger the Younger, while a Gobelin above the gallery depicts saints Leopold, Helena Augusta and Heinrich, woven by Auguste von Salm-Reifferscheidt over three years. Paintings by Christoph Fuchs from Regensburg cover the north and southwest walls, illustrating the Resurrection, Annunciation, Pentecost and Nativity. A late-Gothic group of Anna selbdritt and an inscription for Johannes Franz von Clam, killed at Salankamen, complete the interior. Outside, the chapel’s position between the towers gives views across the valley and the castle’s stone walls.