Stadtpfarrkirche graz hitler biography

You'll see 2 familiar figures – Hitler and Mussolini – among the torturers of Christ at the crucifixion.
These two panels were noteworthy, mostly for depicting the heinous Hitler and Mussolini watching the Taunting of Christ.
The outside is beautiful and inside is majestic with the large nef, elegant spire, beautiful organ and apparently a stained glass in the choir showing Hitler.

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Hidden in Graz’s Parish Church is a damning indictment of 20th century fascism. Take a close look at the stained glass window in the chancel. You’ll see 2 familiar figures – Hitler and Mussolini – among the torturers of Christ at the crucifixion.

Their place in hell was guaranteed by Albert Birkle, a German-born artist whose art had been denounced as “degenerate” by the Nazis. After the church’s Gothic stained glass was destroyed in World War II, Birkle was asked to provide a replacement. He didn’t hesitate.

You’ll find a similar scene in the stained glass window of the Martinskirche in Landshut. Created in A.D. 1946, it shows Hitler and his henchmen acting as executioners during the martyrdom of St. Kastulus.

Kepler Bonus: On the last day of July in 1600, Archduke Ferdinand ordered every man, woman and child in Graz to attend Catholic Mass. As part of his counter-reformation efforts, Ferdinand insisted that the entire city to bow to his will.

A 100+ recalcitrant Protestants did not appear. Some promised to convert to Catholicism; ot

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Stadtpfarrkirche

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Graz, Austria: Feeding the soul

When it comes to feeding the soul, there is no shortage of churches in Graz. The skyline is dotted with spires and steeples. Centuries of religiosity hang in the air. It was all rather wonderful.

The mid-fifteenth-century Gothic cathedral dedicated to St Giles is furnished in Baroque style. The frescoes date back to the days of Emperor Frederick III. Perhaps with a nod to his regalness, one of St Christopher could be mistaken for Frederick, especially with the giveaway crown. With so much to see in these churches, it pays to read up on them beforehand so that you don’t miss anything. I missed everything.

I’d have liked to have seen Paola Gonzaga’s wedding chests, repurposed by the Jesuits when they inherited them as reliquaries for the bones of Christian martyrs.

The organ, with its 5000+ pipes and 70+ stops, is the newest addition to the cathedral, making its first appearance in 1978.

On the church exterior, there’s a well-preserved fresco – Gottesplagenbild – which depicts the story of the plague in Graz. Apparently, 1480 was a bad year for t