Kleinsöding church

The church, consecrated in honor of St. Sebastian, belongs to the pastoral area of Voitsberg in the diocese of Graz-Seckau and is subordinate to the parish of Mooskirchen.

The origins of the church are closely linked to the outbreaks of plague in the 15th century, which almost completely depopulated parts of the surrounding area.

[1] The church is located in the eastern part of the municipality of Söding-Sankt Johann on a small hill, also known as the Kirchenriegel,[2] centrally in the settlement of Sankt Sebastian around 700 meters west of the village of Kleinsöding.

The church is located on a path branching off Packer Straße to the south-east and, like the former sacristan's house directly to the north-west, has the address Kirchenweg 1.

From the 12th century at the latest, the inhabitants of the Kleinsöding area received pastoral care from the parish of Mooskirchen, which was first mentioned in documents in 1136.

When the disease struck Western Styria again around 1480 and decimated the population, 135 of the surviving farmers in the area swore to donate the value of a cow during their lifetime for the construction of a church consecrated in honor of the so-called plague saint Sebastian.

[5]: 28–30 [7]: 302 Plague outbreaks that struck the Kainach Valley in 1584/85 and the Voitsberg district in 1634, 1679/80 and from 1713 to 1716 resulted in more and more pilgrims making the pilgrimage to the church.

[6]: 246  In the 17th century, the pilgrimages reached their heyday and St. Sebastian's Church developed into the most important plague sanctuary in western Styria.

From 1665 onwards, the Keller von Kellersperg family, who lived at Groß-Söding Castle, made an appearance as benefactors of the church.

In 1694, M. Simon Schoper was the only one of the Mooskirchen priests to be buried in the church under the front arch, next to the life-size figure of St. Sebastian, presumably donated by him, in accordance with his will.

The French, under the command of Marshal Auguste Frédéric Louis Viesse de Marmont, used the church as a magazine between June 25 and December 15, 1809.

On April 14, 1874, a lightning strike caused the roof truss of the church tower to burn and the organ was also damaged by the fire.

As the weather repeatedly caused damage to the roof tiles and the repair work proved to be increasingly cost-intensive, the local council decided to re-roof the church in March 2019 after consultation with the Federal Monuments Office.

The municipality itself raised the majority of the funds, with the remaining amount being provided by the St. Sebastian church community, the parish of Mooskirchen and the Federal Monuments Office.

Work began back in April 2019, during the course of which it became apparent that the roof truss of the Kreuzkapelle chapel was in danger of collapsing and therefore also needed to be replaced.

As part of the roofing work, the plaster on the exterior walls was consolidated with a primer made of sintered water and then re-colored with milk of lime and a colored shadow coating.

[2] The single-nave hall church, which is late Gothic in essence and subsequently baroqueized, with a cross chapel and sacristy attached to the choir, faces south-east.

[11] Completed in 1564, the four-storey church tower with a rectangular ground plan is set in front of the nave in the north-west and has a tent roof.

[4]: 34  Above the tower portal is a relief from the 16th century which, depending on the interpretation, depicts either two grave guards or the archers[4]: 32  who, according to legend, shot at St.

Above this, two large figures of angels made at the same time by the Graz sculptor Johann Baptist Fischer are attached to the front arch.

In 1924, the sculptor Josef Guggi placed a plaque with the coat of arms of the Lords of Roll zu Rollau on the right, southern side of the front arch.

There they were brought into their present form, fitted with sprung tops as well as side panels and veil boards, the bounces removed and placed at both ends of the front arch.

On this wall, between the organ loft and the pulpit, hangs a burial plaque made by the sculptor Josef Guggi on January 19, 1924, which lists the people buried in the church.

A bell cast by Salesius Feltl in 1794 was originally donated by Marianna Countess von Saurau for the parish church of Sankt Johann ob Hohenburg.

Although the bell cast by Lorenz Selner in 1675 is mentioned in the literature as being present in the church inventory after the Second World War, it no longer exists.

[4]: 37 [7]: 302–303 The current peal comprises the following three bells: (cm) (kg) The Sebastianikirche has been a branch and pilgrimage church of the parish of Mooskirchen since its construction.

[14]: 56–57 Since the 17th century, the so-called Maschta, a procession of martyrs to the parish church in Mooskirchen, has been held on Easter Sunday in thanksgiving for salvation from the plague.

Only residents of the respective village walk in the procession and at least one person from each house should be present; only the men are allowed to sing the traditional masquerade songs.

The candle refers to the popular custom of the wax sacrifice and the candle-covered presentation cross, which is carried from the branch church to Mooskirchen during the procession and the mashtas singing.

[16] The new municipal coat of arms of Söding-Sankt Johann, which was granted on June 17, 2021, also makes indirect reference to the branch church.