The Hochosterwitz Castle Church
First mentioned in a document in 926 AD, the church was completely rebuilt during the Reformation and is dated 1586. Georg Khevenhüller had it rebuilt as a Protestant church made of plastered rubble stone and marked with the date "1586" on the portal.
It is a hall building with ridge turrets and a separate choir room. The roughcast from the time of construction is still largely preserved, window jambs and corners are set off in smooth white plaster as if they were marble quarries. Ornamented cornice bands form a visual separation between walls and gables or roof. Reclining figures are depicted between vines. The side portal is framed in the same way with lion figures. The main portal in the west is framed by life-size reliefs of a man and a woman; on the pedestals are reliefs of a basilisk and a lion.
A relief with Christ between the twelve apostles serves as the lintel, the pediment shows the resurrection of Christ, inscribed "1586". Vases and mythical creatures in white plaster form additional framing. Painted coats of arms found a place on the mighty ridge turret.
The church is located on another high bastion, which is irregularly shaped here due to the building ground and projects far. To the west of the bastion, a small gateway with a bridge leads to a path secured by a wall and another small gate as a secondary exit.
However, the following steep footpath ("Narrensteig" as it is called) is not open to the public.
