Holy Spirit Church Klagenfurt

The Holy Spirit Church in Klagenfurt am Wörthersee is a branch of the Roman Catholic parish of St. Egid.It is on Heiligengeistplatz, on the western outskirts of town.

The Holy Spirit Church was referenced for the first time in 1355.It was noted in 1381, along with a cemetery and a hospital.Between 1563 through the Counter-Reformation in 1600, it served as a Protestant house of prayer, and it was restored in 1582.From 1630 until 1639, master builder Adam Kolerig, who also created the Kreuzberglkirche, oversaw considerable new building and conversions.Bishop Leonhard von Lavant performed the subsequent consecration.The estates appointed the Ursulines to Klagenfurt in 1670 and granted them the church; in 1674, the foundation stone for the monastery was placed, and it was dedicated four years later.During the French occupation of 1809/1810, the monastery and church were utilized as stables and storage, among other things.The Carinthian estates owned the church until 1848, when it was taken over by the Ursulines.A tower fire in 1681 caused damage; the entire complex burned down in a town fire in 1723; and the church was destroyed by bombings during World War II.Restorations were carried out in 1886, 1928, 1932, and 1960.

The church was built in the 17th century and is integrated within the monastery building, so the visible side is the southern long side facing Heiligengeistplatz. The church’s core is Gothic, but it has a considerable Baroque influence. The western tower is adorned with an articulated onion helmet. The four windows facing the square, two in the nave and two in the choir, are from the Gothic era and were extended in the Baroque era. To the west, there is a round window. The main doorway on the south side includes a classical porch with double columns (about 1800). Werner Hofmeister rebuilt the portal in 2014.

The interior features a four-bayed hall with a lunetted barrel ceiling supported by pilasters. The 1710 organ loft atop a cross vault features a beautiful acanthus design. The chancel has a 5/8 ending and is somewhat indented towards the nave. Its ribbed vault is supported by circular services.

The vault of the nave has two massive paintings by Josef and August Veiter, both from 1886, depicting the Nativity and the Ascension of Christ. Images of prophets and church fathers can be found in the spandrels. Scenes from the creation myth are depicted on the triumphal arch’s wall.

The high altar was built in 1776 and features stucco lustro columns and pilasters.The altarpiece depicts the Pentecost miracle and was painted on copper plates by Lorenz Glaber in 1635.An oval artwork portraying St. Joseph with child can be found on the altarpiece.The temple-shaped tabernacle is fashioned of stucco lustro and supports a copper roof.The high altar’s gold design, which combines late rococo and neo-baroque elements, consists of rocaille and hanging flowers.The two side altars from the end of the 18th century are of the same type and depict the Sacred Heart and Mary in a shrine.The pulpit, which was also built in 1776, is decorated in rococo style.The book with seven seals, the heavenly lamb, and two putti may all be found on the soundboard.

The cross chapel in the tower contains a modest, lavishly adorned altar with a crucifixion painting by Josef Ferdinand Fromiller.

On the walls are various distinct Baroque figures ( Archangel Raphael, St. Michael, St. John Nepomuk ).The banquettes date from 1740 and have inlaid ornamentation.