Evangelische Kirche Bad Radkersburg

The Evangelical Christuskirche stands in Bad Radkersburg, a town in Styria near the Slovenian border. It is a simple barrel-vaulted hall church with a west tower, built between 1930 and 1931. The design came from Clemens Maximilian Kattner, a pupil of Friedrich von Schmidt and Victor Luntz. The building sits outside the old town walls, marking a new phase of Protestant life after earlier suppression. The church’s history reflects the town’s religious struggles in the 16th century. After Protestant teachings spread, Carl Freiherr von Herbersdorff founded a church and school in 1582. In 1599, Catholic forces retook the town, destroyed the building, and banned Lutheran books. Protestantism revived in the 19th century, leading to the present church. Since 2021, it has housed the Evangelical Diocesan Museum of Styria. Inside, visitors find a plain but dignified worship space with a single aisle and an inset altar. The tower contains the bell chamber, and the exterior shows restrained Baroque Revival styling. The surroundings include the old town walls and the Mur River, linking the church to its past. The museum displays objects that tell the story of Styrian Protestantism.