Description of the attraction
Georgiberg is a 624 meter high mountain located in the municipality of Sankt Kanzian, southeast of the Clopenersee lake in Carinthia. This area has been inhabited since ancient times: evidence of the presence of the Celts and Romans is found here. In the 13th century, the present lake Klopeinersee was named after the church and castle on the mountain - St. Georgsee.
Georgiberg has several attractions that are of interest to modern tourists. These include the early Iron Age settlement of Grakarka, discovered in 1927, and the Church of St. George, which was first mentioned in written sources between 1060 and 1070. The church itself is part of a former medieval ducal castle. There was a cemetery to the south of the church.
The current building of the temple was converted in 1500 from an old Romanesque building dating from the 11th century. The nave is considered the oldest part of the temple. Subsequent extensions appeared here in the 17th century. Simple altars in the interior of the Church of St. George were created at the beginning of the 18th century. The choir has a painting that was painted after 1500. In the tower, which adjoins the church from the south, is the so-called bell of desire. In the old days, crowds of pilgrims came to the church of St. George, which stood on a hill on the southern side of Lake Klopeinersee. Then there was a belief that it was worth ringing the church bell for the virgin, as any desire of the pilgrim would come true.
Today, from the foot of the Church of St. George, there is an excellent view of the city of St. Kanzian spread out below.
