Attractions & Landmarks In Hermagor-Pressegger See
Those who make it to the Austrian Alps have not to miss Hermagor-Pressegger See. This is a once-in- a-lifetime event because of the amazing landscape, which features the lovely turquoise lake. Beautiful village full of historic Austrian buildings and modest businesses welcomes visitors to enjoy the surroundings. Perfect for nature lovers, the area’s alpine scenery and biodiversity may be seen by means of a range of hiking paths and cycling routes. Furthermore, the neighborhood boasts various cultural buildings such churches and museums that let guests have a sense of the rich past of the area.
Möderndorf Castle
Möderndorf Castle is situated in the municipality of Hermagor-Pressegger See, about two kilometers south of Hermagor, in the middle of Möderndorf on the right bank of the Gail.
This mediaeval stronghold captures the past of central Gailtal.In Möderndorf’s downtown, the three-story cube-shaped construction is a landmark.The parish bar of Hermagor records the name Möderndorf initially in 1331.Simon Weidegger, a Palatine Count of Gorizia, was living in the castle in 1458.Passed to Emperor Friedrich III during the 1460 Treaty of Pusarnitz wasLater on the Habsburgs left it to the Salamanca-Ortenburg Counts.Before being acquired by Prince Johann Ferdinand on October 8, 1662, the Porciathe estate passed various hands several times (Mr. von Rechbach, Wiedmann).The Dukes of Porcia decided to relocate the district court to the castle when the Grünburg started to decay.At the same period the Waldner family lived in the castle.Rich businessman Georg Essl II purchased Möderndorf Castle on January 16, 1982, then donated it to the Gailtaler Heimatmuseum Friends Association so they can create a museum honoring local history.Following in the footsteps of his father Georg Essl I., who began gathering regional folklore and cultural-historical relics about 1900, he carried on the family enterprise.Supported by the state of Carinthia, the municipality of Hermagor Presseggersee, and most importantly the merchant family Essl, who left the castle to the town of Hermagor, this historic monument was completely restored starting in 2000.Currently it hosts many cultural events every year and displays the Gailtaler Heimatmuseum.
The castle is four-story cube with L-shaped layout with a recessed northwest corner.It most likely evolved in its ultimate shape midway through the 16th century.Architectural styles abound and vary greatly.The building’s north and west sides have chamfers and round arches on entrances.Franz Seraphim painted his Porci coat of arms across the west door.
Lerchenhof Castle
Built between 1848 and 1851, the manorial seat Lerchenhof Castle sits in the town of Untermösch in the Carinthian municipality of Hermagor-Pressegger See.The construction is now a hotel and inn.
About two kilometers outside Hermagor town, on the route to Weißbriach, near Untermöschach, you could come upon the Lerchenhof.Baron Julius von Wodley, intending to get married, lived in the building between 1848 and 1851. Rich coal and steel merchant Bartholomäus Wodley was his father.Domenico Venchiarutti was the generally outstanding master constructor.By contrast, Wodley passed away in a hunting accident before to the Lerchenhof’s completion.The Lerchenhof family inherited the adjoining Steinwender-Hof through marriage and inheritance.In 1928 two sons received equal portions of the Steinwender estate.The Lerchenhof was acquired by Hans Steinwender as new proprietor.Apart from running the farm and earning recognition for his horse breeding, he was heavily engaged in public relations.Today, the Lerchenhof belongs still to his family.
The Lerchenhof became formally a national monument in 1939.The Office for Monument Protection lends the “Lerchenhof Castle” title.Right now it functions as an inn and hotel.
Among the few late classicist-Biedermeier buildings in Carinthia, the Lerchenhof Castle is unique.This construction is really remarkable with three levels and a rectangular floor plan.On the front, there are seven window axes with a broad triangular pediment atop a risalit created by three of them connected by fairly long Tuscan pilasters.On the gable, one might find a 1631 painted coat of arms. Apart from front plastering, the ground floor has grooves and a curved cornice for last finishes.Robust ceilings cover the top stories; recess windows cover the lower stories.Only the middle upper floor window has a circular arch, same as the doorway.
Fortress Khünburg castle ruins
On the southern slope of the Spitzegel, north-east of Lake Pressegg, the remnants of the Khünburg castle, a rock fortification, lay 839 meters above.From Khünburg, a Carinthia municipality town, several hiking or wooded paths go to it.
First attested in official records in 1189, the Khünburg belonged to Count Pero de Kinburch, a ministerial member of the Austrian aristocracy from the von Kuenburg line.
The fortress was under diocese of Bamberg’s authority even in the thirteenth century.The complex was entrusted to Duke Henry of Carinthia in 1311.The castle burnt down in 1540 or 1541.Building the Khünegg Castle, the Khünburg family aimed to unite their activities in Egg (Hermagor).
First restoration was done in 1913.A wooden stairway was built to give access and the keep was covered with a roof in 1931.2012 saw a new roof built, with tower roof beam repairs.
The Romanesque construction goes back roughly around 1200.Its estimated dimensions are thirty by forty meters.After the 13th or the 14th century, major structural alterations did not recur.
Apart from the keep—now functioning as a lookout tower—much of the ring wall and the ground floor wall of a dwelling south of the keep have been conserved.
With its pyramid top, Bergfried has a square ground plan with an edge length of around 9 meters and a total height of roughly 22.5 meters. It’s composed of natural stone. Reaching the tower from an arched entranceway and a wooden staircase following the inside walls for seven flights of stairs and six intermediate levels, the viewing platform of the tower is roughly seventeen meters high. There are 98 levels to master overall. Two square windows built into the one-meter-thick walls flanking the tower let you enjoy amazing views of the Gail Valley and the mountains in the distance on the observation deck.
Church St. Leonhard
Rising on a steeply sloping forested hilltop (Pleik) 116 meters south of Tröpolach, the medium-sized late Gothic branch church “St. Leonhard” According to Paolo Santonino, October 23, 1485 saw the consecration of this “new” church by Caorle bishop. According to the legend, some miners tested by building a wooden church. A joist supports the stenciled murals on the church’s large, almost square nave’s level ceiling. Often with stencils but occasionally freehand, repeated painting splits the ceiling into several longitudinal rectangular parts by wider transverse strips and smaller longitudinal ones. There are practically a rainbow of knots and wickerwork here. Among the notable elements are the right-winged altar, the massive Christ in chains, club-and whip-wielding, and the remarkable cluster of crosses matched with Christ and the two robbers.The chapel was surrounded two times by a chain up to about 1890.Once they rusted, the metal leftovers were turned into a door covering for the Tröpolach parish church.Located outside on the north wall is St. Christopher, a late Gothic life-sized artwork.The youthful giant carries the holy Child Jesus on his right shoulder.When the trees had not yet surrounded the little church, this fresco was clearly visible from across the valley.The pilgrims begged him to assist them and worshipped him.The prevailing thinking says that her life was safeguarded just in case that fatal day arrived.
Rattendorf Parish Church
Standing in the middle of the same-named town in the Gail Valley—now a part of Hermagor—is the Roman Catholic parish church of Rattendorf.A church in Rattendorf first appears in history in 1339. Built in the late Gothic style in the 16th century, the current, medium-sized church is honoring Saints Andreas and Markus.
The church consists on a five-eighths-closure-system retractable two-bay chancel and a four-bay nave.The choir tower facing north features pointed gables, an eight-sided helmet, and pointed arched sound windows.
From the south, late Gothic style original two-part lancet windows are evident.A pointed arch doorway leads one from the north side to the sacristy.The arched windows of the sacristy show images illustrating the life of a holy bishop from the fourteenth century.You also get a peek of Gabriel’s approach toward Mary.
Originally painted in the late Nazarene style in late nineteenth century, the outer frame of the west gateway reads “Come to me, all you who are weary and laden, I will refresh you.”
Designed in 1710 and rebuilt in 1909, the three-story structure holds the main altar.The inside shows Saints Mark and Andrew.Just peripheral figures include Catherine of Siena and Saint Barbara.
Saint Catherine of Siena is shown on the side altar over there, from the 17th century.On the right side of an 18th-century altarpiece, the Blessed Mother is shown clutching the infant Jesus.
Made by Graz’s organ maker Schall, the organ originally housed in the Rosegg parish church was installed in 1770.Arriving at Dellach im Gaital in 1830, the organ headed for Rattendorf in 1863.
One among the several modifications and repairs done over the years is the electrification of the bell system.An electric church clock was fitted and a seat warmer built in 1999.
October 30, 2018 brought a strong storm that caused the dam on the flooded Gail to break.Flooding that ensued wrecked the church’s innards.
Hermagor Parish Church
Dedicated to the Saints Hermagoras and Fortunatus, the parish church of Hermagor stands on the raised Stocksteinerwand in the middle of town.
The parish first came under mention in 1169.The tower of the church added in the fifteenth century to a previous construction.It sprang back during the 1478 Turkish invasion.Added following a fire in 1904 was a neo-Gothic façade.The interior was rebuilt in 1998; the outside was repaired in 1993 and 1994.
Comprising a 5/8 closure and modest stepped buttresses, the late Gothic chancel and hall nave form the church.The late-Gothic Selva chapel, which is included into the nave façade, is located on the southern stretch of the aisle.A pointed arch frames two doors—one on either side of the structure.The window frames, pilaster cladding on the nave corners and pinnacle-crowned attachments, a circumferential pointed arch frieze on the west facade, and gable field construction all help to historicize aspects of the Romanesque-Gothic style.Rising between the nave and the choir on the northern side of the church, is the tower.It boasts pointed arched sound openings on the sides and a pointed gable helmet on top.Outside the church, one may find tombstones commemorating Konstantin, Arnoldstein’s abbot; Hans Preckinger, who died in 1599; and one “von Wolkenstein” bearing the mark 149.On the south wall of the church is Hans Domenik’s 1961 sculpture of St. Hermagoras.
The four-bay nave is split in three by the side aisles, half the breadth of the central nave.Arches pointed like this split the nave from the choir.The two-bay choir is rather smaller than the nave.Whereas the south side shows a neo-Gothic door leading to the tower ascension, the north side has a sacristy door with a pointed arch.Within the single-bay Selva chapel with its simple vaulted star, there is a south side entrance distinguished by a profiled pointed arch. Three stairs separate the entryway from the yoke.The nave’s vaulting is ribbed while seated on octagonal supports.Its architectural style is distinctive from others thanks to figural paintings in niches and decorative arched stones.On the top of the choir’s ribbed ceiling, Christ-like images are painted.The octagonal neo-Gothic timber gallery supporting the organ boasts a carved parapet.
Found in the chancel, next to the Selva Chapel door, was a remnant of a scene from the saint’s story, fashioned circa 1485.Starting in the choir and finishing behind the high altar, an apostle cycle developed about 1370–1380.Pustertal studio painted the keystones and quatrefoil fields between 1478 and 1485.
Mostly, the interior design of the church reflects the Baroque style.
Johann Paterer sketched ideas for the high altar’s open three-part column structure in 1749.Saint Hermagoras forms the center figure. The apostles, Peter and Paul, have a supporting part.The altarpiece shows a moving group of crowned Virgin Marys.Over the sacrificial doors stand figures of St. Benedict (carrying the regulations of the order) and St. Scholastica (with the abbess staff).
Saint Nepomuk is shown mostly on the southern side flying across the heavens on a cloud.Supporting roles are provided by Saint Barbara clutching the cup and Saint Notburga von Rattenberg clutching the sickle.One side shows a saint, while on the other Mary’s schooling.
On the little altar on the northern side is a neo-Gothic Madonna.Side figures in a Rococo style are Saint Anne and Saint Joachim; the angels and the tabernacle follow from this.The top picture shows the baby Jesus with Joseph, Jesus’ foster father.
Originally from the earlier Villach workshop, the altar of the Wolkensteinerkapelle, the southern chapel of the choir, goes back to about 1510.In the predella he presents Christ as the Man of Sorrows beside the Madonna and the apostle John.Above the Madonna with Child and Grapes sits a shrine niche including a sculpture of her.Saints Barbara and Catherine decorate the inside; Mary and the Angel of the Annunciation grace the façade.1987 saw the replacement of original shrine wings with photocopies.On the set wings are shown the plague saints Rochus and Sebastian.
Built around 1770, the rococo pulpit is one of the most famous baroque objects because of its rigid forms and elegant fittings.Laying down the keys on the basket parapet are Christ and a genuflecting Peter.The evangelists are embodied in the four statuettes.On the record cover Jesus Christ is shown carrying the seven seals.
