Pfarrkirche Bretstein

The parish church of Bretstein stands in the Bretstein cadastral area within the municipality of Pölstal in the Murtal district of Styria. Dedicated to Saint Catherine of Alexandria, this Roman Catholic church belongs to the Judenburg deanery in the Graz-Seckau diocese. Both the church and its adjoining cemetery are protected as historic monuments. The church’s history begins with a documented mention in 1373, when it was a filial church of Saint Oswald near Zeiring. In 1765 it became a parish church in its own right. The late Gothic structure was built around 1498 under the direction of master builder Kristoff, also known as Christoph Marl. The two-aisled nave was vaulted in 1539 by stonemason Hans Pusterwalder. The nave was remodelled in Baroque style in 1777, and restored again in 1902. Inside, the two-aisled, three-bay nave has ribbed vaulting on wall pillars and rectangular windows. A gallery supported by two pillars occupies the west bay. The narrower, pointed chancel has a five-sided apse with net-ribbed vaulting and pointed windows. A small sacrament house with an iron grille sits in the sanctuary. The sacristy, with barrel vaulting, is attached to the north side of the chancel. The west front features a shouldered portal with simple Gothic ironwork on the door and a small octagonal spire rising above the roof.