Pfarrkirche hl. Ägydius, Fischbach

The Catholic parish church of St Ägidius stands in the village of Fischbach in the Weiz district of Styria. The present building dates from 1783 and replaced an earlier church first recorded in 1402. A single bell from the 13th century survives from the medieval fabric, while the main structure is a late-baroque cross-plan church with a three-bay nave, broad crossing and one-bay choir ending in a semicircle. Inside, the high altar of 1880 incorporates statues from the late 18th-century predecessor, and the side altars of 1842–43 carry paintings, one signed by W Rolling in 1855. The organ case is by Franz Xaver Schwarz from 1785, with the pipework by Christoph Allgäuer. A notable grave slab in the former churchyard commemorates Gräfin Maria A Steinpeiß from 1680. The church and its surrounding graveyard are protected monuments. The building’s restrained late-baroque style and the survival of older furnishings and fittings make it a quiet place to study ecclesiastical art from the 18th and 19th centuries. The village itself lies in a valley setting, with the church standing at its centre.