Pfarrkirche Schwanberg, Steiermark

The Roman Catholic parish church of Schwanberg stands in the market town of Bad Schwanberg in the Deutschlandsberg district of Styria. It is dedicated to Saint John the Baptist and has been under Denkmalschutz since the 13th century. The building began as a Romanesque structure and has been enlarged and altered over the centuries. The church is worth visiting for its layered history and fine craftsmanship. A Romanesque core survives from the 13th century, while a Gothic chapel was added in the 14th century. Late-Gothic work followed in the 15th century, and the tower’s upper storey is Baroque. In 1896 the choir was walled off to become a sacristy and the nave was extended westwards. The exterior was restored in 1979. Inside, the long six-bay nave has Gothic ribbed vaulting on clustered columns. A three-bay Gothic chapel on the north side holds a rib-vaulted ceiling with round bosses. The former Romanesque choir now serves as the tower’s ground floor, and the late-Gothic choir beyond it is used as the sacristy. Outside, a faded early-16th-century Christophorus fresco and a Biedermeier iron-cast gravestone mark the church’s exterior.