Near the town of Gmünd in the Austrian state of Carinthia stands the Divided Church (Geteilte Kirche am Kreuzbichl), so called because it is spilt into two by a road that runs through. On one side of the road there is the chancel and on the other side is a two-story gallery where church visitors can sit and listen to the sermon from the chancel across the street. This arrangement is quite unique in this world.
At the spot where the church now stands originally stood a roadside shrine called “Kreuz am Bichl” (cross of the hills). These wayside shrines called Marterl are common in Bavaria and provides a place for travelers to stop and pray. This particular Marterl stood on the road from Venice to Salzburg, an important trade route at the time, and Gmünd was a popular stop on the way. Gmünd is also where the dangerous journey over the mountain passes began.
Photo credit: Johann Jaritz/Wikimedia Commons
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