Pfarrkirche Kirchbach in Steiermark

The parish church of Kirchbach in Styria stands in the village of Kirchbach, part of the municipality of Kirchbach-Zerlach in the district of Südoststeiermark. It is dedicated to Saint John the Baptist and belongs to the Diocese of Graz-Seckau. The church has been protected as a listed monument since the 19th century.

The church’s history begins with a mention in 1240, and it became a parish in 1295. A late 15th-century Gothic rebuilding followed, then a 19th-century enlargement and a mid-20th-century restoration. The west tower, originally Gothic, wears an 1836 onion dome. Inside, the three-aisled nave has barrel vaulting on pillars from 1830, while the two-bay Gothic choir ends in a five-sided apse with a star vault.

The interior is mostly late Baroque, with a high altar by Johann Piringer from 1762 showing the Baptism of Christ. Side altars carry figures by Veit Königer from 1763, and the pulpit dates from the late 18th century. The organ case is from 1770, though its pipes were renewed in 2002. Outside, the walled churchyard has 138 niches and corner chapels dated 1666, 1667 and 1669, along with a 1780s fresco of the Virgin and Child.