Pfarrkirche St. Paul ob Ferndorf

The parish church of St Paul ob Ferndorf stands at the northern edge of the village of St Paul ob Ferndorf in Ferndorf municipality, in the Villach-Land district of Carinthia. It belongs to the Spittal an der Drau deanery in the Gurk-Klagenfurt diocese and both church and cemetery are listed monuments. The present building grew from a small Gothic choir of the 14th century, with a Baroque nave added in the 18th century. Records first mention a church here in 1438, and later restorations took place in 1802 and again in 1970–71. Inside, the two-bay nave has a flat wooden ceiling and a new west gallery with concrete floor and timber balustrade. The single-bay choir ends in a five-sided apse under a ribbed vault, while the sacristy carries a groin vault. Wall paintings in the choir date from the early 14th century and were uncovered in 1970, showing three apostles at the east end and pairs of standing saints above. The high altar, with twisted columns and acanthus decoration, holds a late-15th-century seated figure of St Paul and an attic with St Sebastian and angel figures.