Filialkirche Edling

The small Roman Catholic church in Edling stands in a village of the same name near Spittal an der Drau in Carinthia. It is dedicated to Saint Thomas and was once a branch of the parish of Molzbichl before becoming part of Spittal’s town parish after the Josephine reforms in the late 18th century. The building began as a Gothic structure, later transformed in the Baroque style, with its tower added in 1851.

The church’s interior reflects these layers of history. The nave, extended in 1977 by Erich Roppatsch, has a flat Baroque ceiling, while the choir retains a late-Gothic star-ribbed vault from an earlier period. Five stained-glass windows designed by Giselbert Hoke in 1977 depict the seven sacraments. The three altars, richly decorated with acanthus motifs, include a 1725 high altar housing a Madonna and Child flanked by Saints Florian and John of Nepomuk.

Inside, visitors see a Mariahilf image copied from Cranach’s work in Innsbruck Cathedral, a painted antependium showing the Virgin of Mercy, and two oil paintings in the nave. The left painting shows the doubting Thomas from 1755, while the right depicts Christ fallen under the cross from the early 18th century. The church’s modest scale and layered craftsmanship make it a quiet place to observe centuries of devotion and art.