Stadtpfarrkirche Gleisdorf

Name: Stadtpfarrkirche Gleisdorf
Address: Hauptplatz 4, Gleisdorf, Oststeiermark, 8200, AT
Telephone: +43 3112 25170

Gleisdorf

The parish church "St. Laurenzius" dates back to 1500. Built in the late Gothic style at the time, the building was significantly enlarged in the 17th and especially at the end of the 19th century. During restoration work, a Gothic portal was uncovered in the wall to the right of the side entrance.

The Gleisdorf church had a baroque onion dome until 1875, but in the spirit of optimism of the Wilhelminian era, it was given a pointed neo-Gothic tower that is 73 meters high. There used to be a cemetery around the church, which was surrounded by a wall. So here you had a tabor, a refuge with the church in the middle. There is nothing left of it today because the wall was demolished at the beginning of the 19th century. The Gleisdorf Tabor had to pass a severe test in 1532 when a 200,000-strong Turkish army advanced. The residents were able to reach safety behind the walls, but all the houses in the Gleisdorf market were burned down by the Turks. Inside, the church is designed in the Nazarene style of the late 19th century.

The church is dedicated to Saint Lawrence - a martyr. The altarpiece shows him with the grate on which he was tortured to death.

As part of the church renovation in 1997, a walk-in baptismal font was built in the chancel. Since then, those being baptized have been able to be completely immersed in water again, following the early Christian model. Near the exit you can see an impressive gravestone from the Baroque period on the right pillar under the organ gallery. He shows death as a grim reaper. Catharina Burtschacherin, who died in 1677 at the age of 18, rests here.