Pfarrkirche Kumberg

The parish church of Kumberg stands in the market town of Kumberg in the Graz-Umgebung district of Styria. It is dedicated to Saint Stephen and belongs to the Gleisdorf deanery of the Graz-Seckau diocese. The church and the former cemetery are protected monuments. The site has held a place of worship since 1197, when a wooden chapel stood here under Seckau Abbey. A Romanesque building replaced it, and the present church dates from 1700. Until 1777 it served as a branch church of St Radegund’s. For many decades it remained under the patronage of the lords of Kainberg Castle. In 1952 the interior was restored. The west front is plain, marked by pilasters and small round windows. Frescoes of the four Evangelists appear in niches on the outer walls. A side chapel was added later to the south aisle. The square tower with its onion dome rises beside the choir and contains a bell cast in 1740. A statue of Saint John of Nepomuk by J. B. Straub stands by the tower entrance. A Roman milestone from the 2nd century is built into the south wall. The baroque interior has a three-bay nave under a ribbed vault. The two-bay choir ends in a semicircular apse with a balustrade from 1753. The high altar painting of Saint Stephen dates from 1870, while the side altars carry works from the mid-18th century. The organ, built in 1782, was rebuilt in 1886–87.