Page 281 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Austria

C ARINTHIA AND EAST T Y ROL  279

Renaissance courtyard surroun- originally late-Gothic church of
ded by two-storey arcades. This St George. Schloss Falkenstein,
was built in the 16th century, on a rocky promontory near
when the abbey was run by the Obervellach, has an unusual
Order of St George. The mona- tower with a wooden top.
stery is linked with the church
by a 12th-century cloister
whose pillars, decorated by y Lienz
medieval carvers, display a Road map D5. * 12,000. £ @
grotesque world of animals, n Europaplatz 1, (050212) 400.
plants and faces. Even older, ∑ tirol.tl
dating back to the Carolingian
period, are the magical The town has been the capital
ornaments on the old buildings, of East Tyrol since 1919, but its
possibly repre senting some ori gins date back to the Middle
pagan spells. An eye-catching Ages. The Stadtpfarrkirche
feature inside the church is the An alley in Gmünd, famous for its former St Andrä (parish church of
Romanesque portal, made by production of Porches St Andrew), a triple-nave Gothic
master craft sman Rudger in basilica, was built in the 15th
1170. In the side chapels are the the former castle keep houses a century; western sections include
red marble tombs of the Order’s school and a concert hall. parts of an earlier Romanesque
Grand Masters. Also worth The Austrian-born designer church. Today, following many
seeing is a fresco from 1519, Ferdinand Porsche worked in alterations, the church is predom-
depicting the Last Judgement. Gmünd in 1944–50, and 52 of inantly Baroque in style. Inside
the classic “365” models were are a fresco by Josef Adam von
hand-made locally. The most Mölk and a high altar by Franz
famous models and construction Engel. The Franziskanerkirche
frames are displayed in the (Franciscan church), built around
Porsche Museum. 1350, features original 15th-
century frescoes and a Gothic
E Porsche Museum Pietà standing by a side altar.
Gmünd. Tel (04732) 2471. High above the town sits
Open 15 May–15 Oct: 9am–6pm, Schloss Bruck, the seat of the
16 Oct–14 May: 10am–4pm. Görz counts, built between the
∑ porschemuseum.at. 13th and 16th centuries. The
castle has a tall Romanesque
turret; its main body contains
t Mölltal a Romanesque chapel with
Road map D5. £ @ ∑ moelltal.at 13th- and 15th-century frescoes.
Courtyard of the Benedictine abbey Today it also houses a regional
in Millstatt The Möll river, a tributary of the museum with Gothic and
Drau and overshadowed by Baroque artifacts and paintings
Grosses Reisseck peak, runs along by the local Tyrolean artist Albin
r Gmünd the Mölltal, a valley whose upper Egger-Lienz (1868–1926).
Road map D5. * 2,600. @ reaches form a natural extension
n Hauptplatz 20, (04732) 221514. of the magnificent road known
as Grossglockner Hochalpen-
In the 12th century, the strasse (see pp284–5). The river
archbishops of Salzburg, who meanders scenically between
ruled Gmünd, began to encircle the high mountain peaks, while
the town with mighty fortifi- the road along the valley winds
cations, many of which survive its way between old mills,
to this day, including old gate waterfalls and huts, blending
turrets and bastions. Two castles in seamlessly with its spectacular
tower over the town: the older natural surroundings.
one, Altes Schloss, was destroyed The parish of Grosskirchheim
by a fire in 1886, but was was once a major mining district,
restored and is now used as a and the 16th-century Schloss
cultural centre. It was commis- Grosskirchheim now houses
sioned in 1506 by Archbishop an interesting museum of local
Leonhard von Keutschach. history and gold mining.
The Neues Schloss (New Castle) In Döllach you can see the
was built in 1651–4 by Count interesting late-Gothic church The Romanesque tower of Schloss Bruck
Christoph von Lodron. Today of St Andrew, and in Sagritz the in Lienz

278-279_EW_Austria.indd 279 12/09/17 3:05 pm