Cathedral

Royal imperial church architecture in the crown city of Graz. The Graz Cathedral should not be missed during sightseeing in Graz. One should not be deceived by the relatively modest exterior today. The extremely exciting so-called Plague Image is wonderfully preserved as a remnant of the magnificent Gothic fresco painting. Inside the cathedral, there are a multitude of historical and ecclesiastical treasures to discover.

The cathedral still reminds us of the time when Graz was an imperial city. Emperor Friedrich III built it together with his new residence in Graz. The course of history brought changes to the house of God. As a court and city parish church, it was established in the late Gothic style in 1438, and as a religious church of the Jesuits, it was embellished in Baroque style at the end of the 17th and the beginning of the 18th century. Since 1786, it has served as a cathedral, as the bishop's church and the main church of the Catholics in Styria.

The exterior of the cathedral appears plain today. However, during the Gothic period, the facades were splendidly painted. A fresco has largely survived - the so-called Plague Image. It refers to a year of horrors that Graz experienced in 1480. Three plagues, seen as God's punishment, descended upon the city - locusts, war, and pestilence. The image can be interpreted as a plea for mercy and reconciliation. Thomas of Villach arranged the Trinity, saints, and angels in a hierarchical order, along with the three plagues, into an impressive spectacle that, like medieval comics supported by speech bubbles, documents God’s wrath and the pleading for mercy.

Inside the cathedral, the harmonious coexistence of Gothic architecture and Baroque furnishings is striking. The frescoes of the church still date from the time of Emperor Friedrich III., including a fragmentary depiction of Saint Christopher, who bears the features of Friedrich and the ducal hat of Styria.

The Jesuits, to whom the church served as a religious church for almost 200 years, had it adorned in solid Baroque style by the best local and foreign artists. Particularly splendid is the high altar, designed by Jesuit Father Georg Kraxner. The pulpit, choir stalls, and church benches are also of impressive quality.

Among the most precious items in the Graz Cathedral are the two reliquaries to the left and right of the entrance to the altar area. The chests originally belonged to Paola Gonzaga. In 1477, she married Leonhard von Görz and brought bridal chests from her hometown Mantua to his castle Bruck near Lienz in East Tyrol. Inlays made of bone and ivory depict a poem by Petrarch - "I Trionfi". Andrea Mantegna is suspected to be the artist. The couple died childless. Through inheritance, the chests came to the Jesuits in Graz, who used them as reliquaries for the remains of Christian martyrs.

The cathedral organ, built in 1978, boasts 5,354 pipes and 73 registers, performing all pieces during services and organ concerts.

TIP: A masterpiece of the original church furnishings has returned to Graz after years of restoration in Vienna. Conrad Laib's painting "Crucifixion in the Crowd" from 1457 ranks among the most significant late Gothic panel paintings in the German-speaking world due to its quality and size (274x272 cm).