Description of the attraction
The Church of St. Leonard has been preserved since the 15th century. It is located near the Old Town of Graz, on the territory of the homonymous district of St. Leonard. The distance from this church to the main attraction of the city - the Schlossberg Palace - is about two kilometers.
The first Romanesque chapel appeared on this site as early as 1361. It was consecrated in honor of Saint Leonard - the patron saint of cattle, horses and prisoners. Subsequently, this building was greatly increased in size in 1433, and partially survived from that time, despite the fact that from 1480 to 1532 it was almost destroyed by Turkish troops.
The church itself is rather low. It is painted yellow, has a red tiled roof and has very narrow windows, typical of the late Gothic style. This architectural ensemble is complemented by a high bell tower, which was completed over three centuries and only in 1747 was crowned with the current dome, made in the shape of an onion, which is widespread in Austria and southern Germany. In 1712, the baroque chapel of the Virgin Mary was also added to the church, and in 1775 the western façade was completely redesigned, featuring a graceful triangular pediment and decorated with various sandstone figures of saints.
In the middle of the 20th century, a separate spacious room was added in the eastern part of the building, decorated with amazing modern stained glass windows. The church itself has a rather austere interior. Among the elements of the interior decoration of the temple, several decorations of the Baroque era have survived, but most of the interior details were added at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Of particular note is the main altar, pulpit and many late Gothic side altars.
In 1818, during archaeological excavations on the territory of the church, an amazing monument of ancient times was discovered. This is an ancient Roman tombstone dating back to 100 AD. It is now kept in the Archaeological Museum of the Eggenberg Palace.
