Stadtpfarrkirche (Church of the Holy Blood), Graz

In 1440, Emperor Friedrich III had a chapel dedicated to the Body of Christ established in the old jewish ghetto of Graz. The Dominicans improved on it, adding a three-nave Gothic church with a narrow chancel. They also built a cloister on the south side. Part of the cloister with its ribbed vault remains today.

The Dominican period came to an end in 1585 when the Jesuits took over. In the 19th century the ornate Baroque altars were replaced by neo-Gothic ones. Only the Baroque Johannes Nepomuk Chapel remains unchanged. Designed by Josef Hueber on an oval ground plan, it holds the altarpiece of "Mariae Himmelfahrt" by Tintoretto.

Bombs of World War II destroyed the gothic stained glass windows in the chancel. Salzburg artist Albert Bickle got the job of making new windows. Bickle's windows show the passion and the resurrection of Christ.

The new stained-glass windows caused a big stir in the fifties when they were installed. The picture shows Hitler and Mussolini were among the tormentors of Jesus. Bickle was condemned as a degenerate artist by the Nazis and now he had his revenge. Never dis an artist.