Pfarrkirche Hl Paternianus

The parish church of Paternion stands on the Anna-Plazotta-Platz below Paternion Castle in the village of the same name. It takes its dedication to Saint Paternianus from the period when the parish belonged to the Patriarchate of Aquileja, from 811 until 1786. First mentioned in 1296, the church once housed a collegiate foundation between 1330 and 1341. The present building was erected in 1765 after the medieval nave was removed, though the old choir was kept as a side chapel. The broad roof shelters a three-bay hall with a flat-panel vault and two transept-like chapels in the wider central bay. The Gothic choir, with its five-sided apse, retains a ribbed star vault and a painted round boss showing the Virgin and Child. Late-19th-century stained glass by Strobl and Jäger depicts Saints Joseph, John the Evangelist and Paternianus. The tower, rising to three storeys west of the nave, wears a pointed spire with segmental gables. Between tower and choir a Baroque chapel has softly rounded corners and a separate roof. On the south wall a Roman-era tombstone names Tinco, Banana and Ambidrabus, while the south porch bears a Mithras altar. Inside, the high altar of 1776 shows the glorification of Saint Paternianus and the crowning of the Virgin, flanked by carved figures of Saints Peter and Paul.