parish church Gmünd in Kärnten

The Pfarrkirche Gmünd in Kärnten stands in a quiet side street in the town of Gmünd. Built as a Roman Catholic church dedicated to the Assumption of Mary, it belongs to the diocese of Gurk-Klagenfurt. The church and its adjoining cemetery are protected monuments. The building’s long history appears in its walls. A chapel was added in 1459 by Christian Rosenhaimer, and the nave vaulted in 1499. After a fire in 1613 damaged the roof and tower, both were restored the same year. In 1792 a town fire forced the nearby Pankratiuskirche to close, and this church took its place as the main parish church. A major restoration in 1965 and another of the façade in 1998 kept the fabric sound. Inside, the late-Gothic hall with its ribbed vault rises on six octagonal pillars. The high altar, finished in 1730, carries a painting of the Assumption by Jakob Zanussi and statues by a local carver, probably Paul Abweger. The Rosenhaimer Chapel holds a family altar dated 1730, while the Raitenau Chapel and baroque sacristy flank the main choir. The tower, rebuilt after the 1792 fire, contains five bells and a spiral stair. Outside, the west door is framed by a richly carved porch built around 1600.