Maria Verkündigungskirche

Am Rehgrund 2
8043 Graz
♿ Venue accessible for wheelchairs

Google Maps

The concepts and buildings of the so-called Graz school of architecture of the early 1970s are unapologetically geared toward the future. The church in Graz-Kroisbach is a testament to their utopian thinking. Architects Wolfgang Kapfhammer and Johannes Wegan designed its light, minimalistic, and colorful interior that could easily double as a set for any number of science-fiction movies, and an exterior hull combining Brutalist concrete elements with cement asbestos cladding, thus creating a monument that is very much a child of its time. The hut-like structure can also be seen as a memorial to the locals who had lost their homes in the bombings of World War II and lived in temporary housing on this site. Forty-five years after it was built it still breathes the air of utopia while also screaming: “Never again!”

Maria Verkündigungskirche, photo: Simon Oberhofer

Artists