St Aegidius Cathedral serves as the cathedral of the large Austrian city of Graz. It is located in the city centre and stands on the same hill as the city castle. Previously, the cathedral was connected to the palace by a two-storey passageway, but this structure was destroyed at the end of the 19th century. The church itself was built in the middle of the 15th century and has remained virtually unchanged since then.
The first church dedicated to St Aegidius appeared on this site in the 12th century, and in 1438 the construction of the modern cathedral began at the same time as the construction of Graz Castle. After side chapels were added to the church in the middle of the 17th century, its appearance was not changed again. In 1786, the Cathedral of St Egidius was given the status of a cathedral.
The interior of the church is much more interesting than its austere exterior, in which, however, it is worth noting the western portal, decorated with elegant statues and carvings. Most of the details of the interior of the cathedral were added during the arrangement of the side chapels - that is, in the middle of the XVII century, so the dominant style here is Baroque. However, it is necessary to note the painting on the ceiling of the building, made in the Gothic style and preserved since 1464. The oldest part of the building is the Chapel of St Barbara, formerly used as a sacristy - it was decorated as early as 1438. Another chapel, preserved from the very beginning of the construction of the church, is the Friedrichskapelle, where a unique masterpiece of late Gothic fine arts is exhibited - the Crucifixion by Conrad Laib, executed in 1457. Earlier this Crucifixion was part of the main altar of the cathedral, but in the 17th century all Gothic altars were replaced by Baroque altars.
It is worth noting that the Cathedral of St Egidio is combined with the nearby Ferdinand II Mausoleum, built as a typical Jesuit church in the Mannerist style - a kind of "intermediate between Renaissance and Baroque". The Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II was buried here with his family. The interior decoration of this funerary chapel, made in the Baroque style at the end of the 17th century, is breathtakingly rich and luxurious.
