Kalvarienberg und Kalvarienberg Kirche

Calvary Church and Mountain Complex in Kindberg

History

As part of the Counter-Reformation, the Inzaghi family, who moved from the duchy of Milan, took over the vacated estate of Oberkindberg Castle.

Abondio Maria Josef Count Inzaghi, Baron of Oberkindberg, dedicated the Calvary complex to the population as a symbol of Baroque devotion in memory and for the observance of the suffering Savior. The location was determined by the limestone rock rising at the foot of the Hofer Kogel.

The laying of the foundation stone took place in the year 1674. The consecration of the foundation stone was performed by Inzaghi's nephew, Prince Benedetto Cardinal Odescalchi, who was elected pope on September 21, 1676, and canonized in 1956 as Blessed Innocent XI, the Pope of the Turks.

The consecration of Mount Calvary was performed by the Prince-Bishop of Seckau, Johann Ernst Count von Thun, on May 3, 1686.

The Calvary Church, the chapel of Oberkindberg Castle, and St. George's Church form an isosceles triangle with a megalithic measurement of 1023m, with the connection between Calvary Church and the Castle Chapel oriented exactly to the north.

Stations

The complex consists of thirteen stations.

Beginning with the scene of the Mount of Olives behind the altar in the church, after leaving the church through the main entrance, one reaches the first chapel with "Christ in Suffering".
Passing by a stone statue of "Christ falling under the cross", one ascends to chapel two with the flagellation scene and then to the grotto of Peter carved into the mountain. Opposite chapel three, which represents the crown of thorns, there is a steep wooden staircase leading up. Through the Ecce Homo archway – which depicts Christ and Pilate with a soldier in three stone figures – one arrives at the chapel with the scene "Christ carries the cross".
A few steps higher, one stands at the actual Calvary with a simple cross on a stone pedestal, enjoying a wonderful view over the city of Kindberg and the lower Mürztal. At the back, a wooden staircase leads back down the mountain, past the chapel with the deposition of the cross to a rock niche with the grave of Christ.
Above the grave is the grotto with the penitent Mary Magdalene, the holy Veronica, and Simon of Cyrene. The end of the Stations of the Cross is the cave with the holy Dismas. Once passed through, one reaches the chapel with the crown of thorns again, thus having circled the entire rock formation.