Pfarrkirche St. Lorenzen im Mürztal

The Catholic parish church of St Lawrence stands in Sankt Lorenzen im Mürztal, a village in the Mürz valley of Styria. The church and its former cemetery are protected monuments. The oldest parish in the valley, it was first recorded in 875. It passed from the Knights of St George to the Jesuits before returning to diocesan hands in the 18th century. The building shows layers of history in its fabric. The nave dates from the late 12th century and was vaulted at the end of the 15th. The choir was added about 1343 and the tower built between 1431 and 1481. The tower’s four storeys rise above the south-west corner, capped by a low onion dome and lantern. Inside, the late-Gothic vaults of the nave and aisles rest on consoles, some carved with coats of arms. The interior is rich in later furnishings. A Baroque high altar by Johann Baptist Scheith shows St Lawrence, flanked by Rococo side altars. The pulpit and altars in the side chapels date from the early 18th century. Outside, weathered gravestones mark the graves of local families from the 17th to the 19th centuries. The churchyard retains its simple, historic character.