St. Mary's Parish Church

Name: St. Mary's Parish Church
Address: Hirschegg 1, Hirschegg-Pack, Graz - Region Graz, 8584, AT
Telephone: +43 3141 2207

Hirschegg-Pack

The parish church of St. Mary in Hirschegg is mentioned in documents as early as 1245. Today's church, a late Gothic hall church with three naves, was artistically executed in marble and stone between 1470 and 1490.

Between the Teigitsch and the Mitereggerbach, the parish church dedicated to St. Mary was built on a small hill.

The current church building, a three-nave late Gothic hall church with three slender pairs of columns, was artistically executed in marble and stone. In 1995, about 40 different stonemason's marks were discovered during the exterior renovation. Star ribbed vaults, the tracery on the windows, the stone music loft, and the old organ from the year 1700 are beautiful details of the church. The length of the church is 26.4 m, and the width and height of the interior are each 11 m. The west portal with a curved pointed arch and finial decoration, as well as the crowning of the gable, are significant.

On the main altar, the birth of Christ is depicted. Instead of Joseph, we see God the Father himself, who holds a hand in blessing over the infant lying in a fold of his mother's cloak. Four angels, wonderfully and delicately carved, carry this cloak fold, while one angel holds the Christ child’s hand from behind. The ox and donkey look on curiously.

The name Hirschegg, referred to as "Hirßegk" in a document from 1490 and still read as "Hirscheck" in the parish registers about 100 years ago, is certainly connected to the old legend about Margrave Wilhelm. Margrave Wilhelm, the husband of St. Hemma, often resided in Hirschegg and was also an enthusiastic deer hunter. Threatened by a majestic stag, the margrave fled behind a tree stump and vowed to build a church if he escaped with his life. Strangely enough, a stag can be found on the high altar of the parish church in Hirschegg, lying in front of the altar shrine, which beautifully depicts the birth of Christ, carved by a master from southern Germany.