Maria Trost

Maria Trost is a late-Gothic pilgrimage church in the village of Fernitz in the Austrian province of Styria. It stands on a low rise in the gently rolling countryside south of Graz, its tall west tower visible for kilometres across the fields. The present building was constructed between 1506 and 1514, replacing earlier Romanesque and High-Gothic structures. The church owes its existence partly to Emperor Friedrich III, who lived in nearby Graz and urged its construction after the disasters of 1480. A fresco in Graz Cathedral recalls the vow ‘Maria in der Fern… hilfst du mir, so helf ich dir gern!’ Reliefs of the imperial eagle still mark the exterior. The same master builders who worked on Graz Cathedral and the city parish church shaped its ribbed vaults and stonework, and artists such as Veit Königer and Josef Schkotnigg contributed to its decoration. Inside, the most striking feature is the unusual choir vault, a hexagonal central space surrounded by an ambulatory. The nave is divided into four bays with richly patterned star ribs, while the organ loft at the west end dates from 1751 and carries an 1869 instrument. The neogothic altarpieces by Hans Pascher replaced earlier baroque works, but the late-Gothic Madonna on the high altar remains. North of the nave lies the Galler Chapel, rebuilt in 1668 with Knorpelwerk stucco and family tombs, and beyond it a small room under the old tower preserves frescoes and a 17th-century lavabo.