St. Leonhard ob Tamsweg, Catholic pilgrimage church in Tamsweg, Austria

St. Leonhard ob Tamsweg is a Gothic pilgrimage church on the slope of the Schwarzenberg above Tamsweg, oriented east with a north tower and surrounded by defensive walls. Inside, a basilica-like hall has a star-ribbed vault by Salzburg builder Peter Harperger and a recessed choir with rib vaults in broken rows. Pilgrim paths climb to it in serpentines, lined with chapels.

A statue of Saint Leonard kept returning to a juniper bush on the Schwarzenberg above Tamsweg, so a chapel was built there around 1421. Pilgrim income funded a larger church, consecrated in 1433 by auxiliary bishop Johann Ebser and built by Salzburg master Peter Harperger. In 1478, after Ottoman troops reached the Salzburg territory, defensive walls were added; Hungarian troops of Matthias Corvinus were quartered in them until 1489.

Pilgrims came chiefly to ask Saint Leonard to protect their livestock, especially horses, and to free prisoners; forged iron chains were left as votive offerings, earning such churches the name Kettenkirche. The figure venerated here is a rural carving from the first half of the 15th century, mounted on a juniper branch and charred at the back for reasons no source explains.

The church stands on the Schwarzenberg slope above Tamsweg, reached by several pilgrim paths that climb the hillside in serpentines, lined with chapels. The building is oriented east with its tower on the north side, and the fortification walls built in 1478 still ring it. Sturdy shoes help on the steep, winding ascent.

The fortifications around the church were built in 1478, after Ottoman troops invaded Carinthia and reached Salzburg territory for the first time. Troops of the Hungarian king Matthias Corvinus were quartered inside them until 1489. The walls still ring the church today.