Gurk Cathedral

Gurk is a village of a few hundred people with a twelfth-century cathedral that would not look out of place in a capital. It was built over the grave of Hemma of Gurk, who founded the monastery here, and her tomb sits in a crypt whose vault rests on a hundred slender marble columns, a forest of stone under the choir. Above, the west porch keeps medieval frescoes, the bishop's chapel holds more, and a large painted Lenten cloth from the fifteenth century is hung across the chancel in the weeks before Easter. For the rest of the year it is shown only in part.

History

Hemma of Gurk founded a Benedictine nunnery here in 1043, and Archbishop Gebhard of Salzburg dissolved it in 1070-1072 to fund the new diocese of Gurk and the building of a cathedral. The present basilica was built from 1140 to 1200, its crypt of 100 columns the oldest part, and at its consecration in 1174 Hemma's grave was moved into it; the cathedral chapter, founded in 1123, moved to Klagenfurt in 1787 (Wikipedia, Gurk Cathedral).

What you'll find

• The hundred-column crypt - the low vaulted chamber under the choir with Hemma's tomb at its centre.
• The west porch frescoes - the medieval wall paintings inside the entrance.
• The bishop's chapel - the painted upper chapel, seen only on a guided visit.
• The Lenten cloth - the great painted veil hung across the chancel in the weeks before Easter.

When to go

The nave stays open through the day; the crypt, chapel and tower are seen on guided visits that run to a fixed timetable and mostly in the warmer months. Come during Lent if you want the painted cloth hanging, and in the morning if you want the crypt to yourself. Winter visits are cold and the schedule is thin.

Before you go

Guided visits are in German unless a group has booked otherwise, and English material is limited. The village has almost no other reason to stop, so it is a long drive for a single church. The crypt is dim and photography is restricted. Restoration scaffolding appears somewhere on the building most years.

Nearby

Hochosterwitz castle and Sankt Veit an der Glan lie east down the valley.

Key facts