Kloster Bad Gleichenberg

The Franziskaner-Hospiz stands in Bad Gleichenberg, a spa town in the south-east of Styria. The two-storey building dates from the 19th century and was once home to a community of Franciscans. A simple façade hides a rich interior of painted panels and carved altars. The church and monastery were founded by Matthias Constantin Capello von Wickenburg in 1841. The church was completed in four years, and the Franciscans took over in 1888. Their refectory still shows a large canvas of the stigmatisation of St Francis painted by Joseph Tunner in 1852. The house chapel contains a Renaissance altar from 1566, moved here in 1960 after restoration. Visitors enter through the quiet cloister passages and find the refectory with its painted walls. The small chapel at the far end holds the restored Teuffenbacher Altar, its figures standing out against the muted light. Beyond the cloister gate the spa park begins, lined with lime trees and offering long views across the valley.