Sankt Katharina, Gothic cemetery and parish church in Längenfeld, Austria.
Sankt Katharina is a church featuring Gothic elements such as pointed arches and ribbed vaults in Längenfeld. The structure sits within cemetery grounds that form an integrated part of the religious complex.
A first wooden church was recorded in 1303 in documents from Petersberg Castle and consecrated in 1352. Around 1518 it was rebuilt in late Gothic style, largely in stone, probably at the instigation of Jakob von Tarrenz. In 1690 it was enlarged and baroquised, creating the core of today's building; the parish became a chaplaincy in 1469, with Georg Faßnacht documented as first priest in 1471.
The parish belonged to the mother parish of Silz for centuries, so priests had to travel to Oberlängenfeld for high feasts; from 1469 Längenfeld had its own chaplaincy, and Georg Faßnacht is documented as its first priest in 1471. The church is dedicated to St. Catherine, and the cemetery beside it, the St.-Katharinenfriedhof, was replaced by a newly laid-out cemetery at the end of October 2023 because it was full.
The church stands on a hill in Oberlängenfeld, with the road Oberlängenfeld passing on two sides; the presbytery is at Oberlängenfeld 5. Because of the plot, the building is not oriented east but along a northeast axis. The St. Katharinen cemetery beside it was replaced by a newly laid-out cemetery at the end of October 2023 owing to heavy occupancy.
On the sixth bay of the nave's south wall, a small niche holds the mason's marks of tongs and horseshoe, while the southeast buttress carries the date 1518 and the mark LOE. A bricked-up late Gothic portal in the fifth bay has jambs of crossed round bars.
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