Photo: Tourismusverband Oststeiermark · Gernot Muhr

Stadtpfarrkirche Gleisdorf

Gleisdorf, Styria

A baroque onion dome tower adorned the Gleisdorf church until 1875, but in the spirit of the Gründerzeit (founders' era), it was given a pointed neo-Gothic tower that is 73 meters high. Previously, the church was surrounded by a cemetery, which was enclosed by a wall. This made it a Tabor, a refuge fortress with the church in the center. Today, nothing remains of this, as the wall was demolished at the beginning of the 19th century. The Gleisdorf Tabor faced a severe test in 1532 when an Ottoman army of 200,000 men advanced. The residents could take refuge behind the walls, but all the houses in the market town of Gleisdorf were burned down by the Turks. Inside, the church is decorated in the Nazarene style of the late 19th century. The church is dedicated to Saint Lawrence, a martyr. The altarpiece shows him with the gridiron, on which he was tortured to death. During the church renovation in 1997, a walk-in baptismal font was installed in the altar area. Since then, baptizands can be fully immersed in water, following early Christian tradition. Near the exit, on the right pillar under the organ loft, there is an impressive Baroque-era gravestone. It depicts Death as the Grim Reaper. Here rests Catharina Burtschacherin, who died in 1677 at the age of 18.