Untergreutschach brings together sacred art, wayside shrines in a variety of architectural styles, and the Slomšek Pilgrimage Trail. To help you plan your trip, it is useful to distinguish between individual structures and a sequence of stops along a route: several works of art are located at the parish church, while each wayside shrine has its own architectural features. The pilgrimage trail, by contrast, follows a named sequence of places.

Church Art and Heritage Protection

The late Romanesque round ossuary in Untergreutschach contains frescoes. Its circular shape and paintings give the building two specific features that define its distinctive character. For a cultural stay, the ossuary offers a different focus from the wayside shrines, whose appearance is defined by niches, roof shape or interior.

A memorial plaque to the fallen of the First World War is affixed to a buttress on the south wall of Greutschach Parish Church. There is also a large wooden Baroque Crucifixion group on the south side. The two works represent different themes: the plaque commemorates those who fell in the First World War, while the Crucifixion group depicts a religious subject.

St Martin's Parish Church and Greutschach fortified churchyard are protected as historic monuments under a regulation. Both are listed in the Austrian Federal Monuments Office's Carinthian register dated 19 June 2026.

Comparing the Wayside Shrines

The Jagakreuz is a late Gothic tabernacle wayside shrine with four square niches. It stands around 300 m east of Greutschach Parish Church at a fork in the road. Its architectural form and location can be considered together: the niches define the shrine, while the fork in the road provides a specific point of reference.

The Kowatschkreuz is an open-sided wayside shrine with a projecting gable roof, two pillars and a wooden crucifix. It stands south of the village, right beside the road. It is currently the final station of the Corpus Christi procession and the processions on Rogation Days; procession arrangements may change. If you would like to plan your trip around one of these dates, check the latest arrangements in advance.

The Rappatzkreuz differs in its architectural form and its historical connection to a route. This wayside chapel has an accessible interior and a gable roof. It stands on the old connecting path from the farmstead down into the valley, which was used until around 1955. Its historical timeframe thus differs from that of the Kowatschkreuz: it is currently a station on processions, while the path associated with the Rappatzkreuz belongs to the history of the area up to around 1955.

The Slomšek Pilgrimage Trail

The Slomšek Pilgrimage Trail offers a different perspective on Untergreutschach from the individual wayside shrines. It starts at the fortified church or the Hauser inn in Greutschach/Krčanje and initially descends into the Wölfnitz Gorge. It then follows the stream uphill along a forest track to Wölfnitz and later continues to St Leonhard an der Saualpe. The sequence of descending into the gorge and then climbing along the stream describes the route in concrete terms. This lets you consider the pilgrimage trail as a travel theme in its own right, distinct from the individual cultural sights.

Discover more destinations: Wölfnitz, Neuhaus, Ruden, Trögern, Oberseidendorf, Steinerberg, Gallizien, Unterburg on Lake Klopein.

For the overview of the wider area: Völkermarkt.