Photo: TV ERZBERG LEOBEN

Kirche Mariä Himmelfahrt

Vordernberg, Styria

The name Vordernberg first appears in a document from March 12, 1314, when Duke Friedrich the Fair forbade iron producers south of the Erzberg from delivering their iron anywhere other than Leoben. At the beginning of the 14th century, a legal and economic separation of the two iron towns then began. In 1453, Emperor Friedrich III granted Vordernberg the market coat of arms and certified its market rights. For centuries, Vordernberg was one of the most famous centers of iron production. At the beginning of the 16th century, 14 Radwerke (waterwheel-powered hammer mills) could be identified on the Vordernberger-Bach. Since, with a few exceptions, the Radmeister (master smelters) had to reside near their smelters, numerous manor houses were built in the village, which still particularly characterize the townscape of Vordernberg today. Since the settlement essentially remained near the church in the upper part of the village, a division of the village into two parts arose, with the religious center of the village at that time located in this area. The chapel dedicated to Our Lady, built in the lower part of the village at the time of the market elevation, was only declared a parish church in 1830. The former parish church – first consecrated to St. Elisabeth and later to St. Laurentius – which was repeatedly afflicted by fires over the centuries, was for a long time a destination for pilgrims from the entire surrounding area, who hoped for help in emergencies and illnesses at the miraculous cross. It has survived much in the past and is today again a quiet place for contemplation.