Gurk - Dom

In 1043 Hemma of Gurk (canonized in 1938) founded the Benedictine double monastery of Gurk Abbey, where she withdrew during the last years of her life.

After Saint Hemma´s death, the abbey was dissolved by the Archbishop of Salzburg, who instead set up the Diocese of Gurk-Klagenfurt in 1072.

The "Gurk Cathedral" is a large Romanesque basilica, built 1140 - 1220.
The crypt got consecrated already in 1174 and since then hosts the grave of Saint Hemma of Gurk, still a place of pilgrimage.

The towers are 60 meters high. The baroque spires were added in 1678. The Dom is surrounded by walls. Within this "sacred enclosure" is a large graveyard - and (right) two Karners (ossuaries).