Pfarrkirche St. Margarethen bei Knittelfeld

The parish church of St Margaret in St Margarethen bei Knittelfeld stands in the village of the same name in the Murtal district of Styria. Built for the local parish, it belongs to the deanery of Knittelfeld in the diocese of Graz-Seckau. The church and its surrounding cemetery wall are listed as historic monuments. The church’s history begins in 1147 when a chapel was recorded as a branch of Kobenz parish. By 1225 it had become an independent parish, and in 1515 it was rededicated after rebuilding. A major restoration took place in 1949. The tower mixes Romanesque lower stages with later neo-Gothic upper parts topped by a pointed spire and four small corner pinnacles. Inside, the nave carries a curved star-ribbed vault on half-circular responds, while the 14th-century Gothic choir has a ribbed vault with a round keystone and a painted window of St Margaret from the mid-15th century. Outside, the south wall of the nave bears a baroque crucifix group by Balthasar Prandtstätter from the early 18th century. Three Roman stones are set into the wall, one showing a married couple and two decorated with Gorgon heads and dolphins. The churchyard wall encloses a quiet space around the building, with the main entrance framed by a pointed arch and original ironwork.