Pfarrkirche Diex, Parish church in Diex, Austria

Pfarrkirche Diex is a fortified church in the centre of Diex, surrounded by a five-metre-high ring wall with an irregular hexagonal plan and three-quarter round towers at the east and west corners. The church has a double-tower facade with a late-Baroque Zopfstil front between the towers, a Gothic east tower with buttresses, and a lower polygonal Baroque choir. The nave is covered by a barrel vault with lunettes, and all roofs are laid with stone slabs.

First documented in a Gurk urbar in 1326, the church was a filial of Sankt Margarethen ob Töllerberg until it became a parish church in 1379. A defensive wall with walkway and corner towers was added during the Turkish threat of 1470–1490, and the Gothic choir probably dates from after 1490. Around 1645 the nave and west tower were built, and around 1778 the south facade and interior furnishings were completed.

The high altar's central niche holds a statue of Saint Martin in bishop's vestments, flanked by Paul with a sword and Matthias with an axe; George and Florian stand as shrine guards above the offering portals, and the altarpiece shows the Last Supper. In the eastern side chapel, a Baroque cross altar places a figure of Faith beneath the Holy Spirit dove and God the Father, with a crucifix and the Tree of Knowledge beside it.

The location at the village's highest point makes it easy to find and approach. Visitors should wear sturdy footwear since the terrain rises as you head toward the church building.

The church is ringed by a five-metre-high wall on an irregular hexagonal plan, with three-quarter round towers at the east and west bends. In the northeast corner stands a trapezoidal gatehouse with firing slits and a barrel vault; its wooden covered walkway with shield wall and throwing slot survives, and the parish house adjoins the wall to the south.