Holy Cross Church

The Roman Catholic parish church of Heiligenkreuz am Waasen stands in the small village of the same name in the district of Leibnitz, Styria. It belongs to the Diocese of Graz-Seckau and is protected as a listed monument. The church is dedicated to the Holy Cross and overlooks the surrounding countryside from its elevated position. The church’s history begins with a mention in 1265, and its late-Gothic choir, now a side chapel, dates from 1547. The Baroque nave and chapels from 1684 have vanished, but the west tower was added in 1746 by Johann Georg Stengg. Between 1891 and 1894 Robert Mikovics transformed the building in the Neo-Renaissance style. Exterior and interior restorations followed in 1955 and 1970. Inside, the five-bay nave with wall pillars and cross-ribbed vaults leads to a narrower choir. The former Gothic choir, now a side chapel, has a five-sided closure and a net vault with a 1547 keystone. The high altar in Knorpelwerk style, with figures and three reliefs, came from Maribor in 1894. A life-size statue of Saint Helena crowns the pulpit, recalling the legend that she found the True Cross. The Gothic chapel houses a baptismal font with a statue of Saint John of Nepomuk, and the 1894 organ by Konrad Hopferwieser has 24 stops. A bell cast by Franz Anton Weyer in 1721 still rings today.