AugustinerkircheIn 1362 the people of Fürstenfeld requested that Duke Rudolf IV let the Augustinian hermits settle in the city in order to provide a religious counterbalance to the royal commandry. The church and the monastery were built between 1365 and 1368.
AugustinerkircheThe monastery that was torn down in 1956 consisted of a courtyard with a cloister surrounded by three wings. Archbishop Ortholph of Aponia consecrated the monastery in 1367. In 1480 the troops of the Hungarian King Matthias Corvinus plundered the monastery, captured the occupants of the monastery and garroted Frater Heinrich von Rattenburg (memorial plaque in the passage). The monastery was devastated by fires in 1503 and 1685 and in 1683 an explosion at the nearby powder tower caused serious damage. The church was rebuilt in 1685 under the architect Joseph Hueber. The monastery was dissolved in 1811. In 1945 the church was damaged again. In 1978 Fürstenfeld celebrated its 800th anniversary. The church was thoroughly renovated over the following years, Gothic frescos were uncovered and representations of the apostles and prophets were installed in the Presbytery. At the base of the cross-ribbed vaults large-scale frescos of kings and prophets are visible. More frescos can be found on the southern wall. One of them is believed to depict Duke Rudolf IV, others show a Turkish building and a Turk wearing a turban. The frescos were created by Johannes Aquila whose commemorative plaque can be found at the entrance to the church. Another plaque in the passage commemorates P. Johannes Clobucciarich (1545-1605) who was the monastery's prior from 1585. He was a renowned cartographer and performed the first topographic mapping of the territories of Inner Austria. He died in 1605 while fleeing the Hungarians. https://www.festungsweg.at/