Kreuzkirche

The Kreuzkirche is a Protestant parish church located in the Lend district of Graz, specifically in the 4th district.

In response to the increasing population on the right bank of the Mur, a decision was made in the early 20th century to establish a new evangelical parish.In 1908, the Mühl-Schlössl, a 17th-century building located on the outskirts of the Graz Volksgarten and near the left bank of the Mühlgang, was purchased and converted into a vicarage.In 2014, the identity of an anonymous donor named Ida Albrecht was discovered. In her will, she had designated her fortune to be used for the establishment of a Lutheran church in Mecklenburg.The municipality of Graz has submitted an application for funding.The Berlin architecture professor, Otto Kuhlmann, emerged as the winner of the competition that was advertised. The competition also included participation from the Viennese architectural office of Siegfried Theiss and Hans Jaksch, as well as Otto Bartning.The church was constructed between 1912 and 1914 based on Kuhlmann’s designs. It was officially inaugurated in 1914, just prior to the outbreak of the First World War.

The Kreuzkirche features a nave with buttresses, an open porch, and a grand tower. Initially, the tower boasted an onion dome, but unfortunately, it was destroyed during World War II.The nave is made up of galleries supported by large stone columns, and it features a semi-circular apse with a beautiful blue starry sky.The Protestant church building stands out with its striking decorations featuring angels and paintings on the gallery parapets.The altarpiece is a replica of Peter Paul Rubens’ Crucifixion, created by the Graz painter Alfred Schrötter von Kristelli.In 1915, the Graz sculptor Hans Brandstetter created a stone relief bust of the unidentified founder of the church. This bust is currently situated in the tower of the church.The staircase leading to the organ gallery features a baroque altar called St. Paulus Eremita. This altar originally belonged to the house chapel of the nearby Mühlschlössel vicarage.An arcade connects the vicarage to the Kreuzkirche.