LIKE IN A PICTURE BOOK
ST. LORENZEN
A typical Carinthian gem, like in a picture book, is the Lorenzerberg with the fortified church of St. Laurentius. A few steps away is the romantic filial and pilgrimage church of St. Anna.
If you drive downhill from Hochrindl for about 10 minutes in the direction of Village Ebene Reichenau, you will come to the Lorenzerberg turn-off. From here it is only about 3 km to the idyllic village of St. Lorenzen at 1,477 m above sea level. A fortified church, a few old farmhouses and two inns - there is not much more here. What the visitor is offered here, however, is a fairytale-like, beautiful alpine landscape in the middle of the Nockberge mountains. A real insider tip and starting point for many hikes! The old fortified church of St. Lawrence is the highest parish in Carinthia.
There is documentary evidence of a Capella S. Mariae et S. Laurentii in alpibus. The church is essentially a Romanesque and Gothic building from the 14th century, which was altered in the Baroque style in the last quarter of the 18th century. The north tower has pointed-arched sound openings and a pyramidal roof. The pointed-arched west portal is inscribed with the year 1787.
From the parish church, a narrow road leads past a few rustic wooden houses and, in the last stretch, a steep path leads up to the Romanesque pilgrimage church of St. Anne, which towers above the village. The small church is a later baroqueised, originally Gothic building of the 14th century. It was extended to the west at the end of the 18th century and provided with a ridge turret with a round-arched sound opening and an ornamental onion tower. The building seam is still clearly visible on both the north and south sides.
Place of pilgrimage: On 15 August, a pilgrimage is made from the village Ebene Reichenau to St. Lorenzen to St. Anna Church. Afterwards, a big custom day takes place outdoors - without amplifiers and with the old tradition of wrestling.