The new book “Sources of Power 5. 100 sacred treasures between the Alps and the Adriatic” presents Christian places of power at the intersection of three cultures. of the fifth volume of the successful series There are church organs, Christian places of worship from Roman times and sacred wall and ceiling paintings in Carinthia, Slovenia and Friuli.
Experts from various disciplines are searching for traces of the common cultural and spiritual roots of the Alps-Adriatic region. Franz Glaser, one of Austria’s most renowned archaeologists, describes the early Christian places of worship – starting from Aquileia, the “mother church” of Alpine dioceses, to Hemmaberg, one of the oldest pilgrimage sites in Europe. Church musicians such as Graz Cathedral Music Director Melissa Dermastia present the diversity of the “queen of instruments” in the three-country region: from the small chest organ to imposing cathedral organs. Art historians present sacred wall and ceiling paintings of European importance from nine centuries.
Evidence of Christian culture
“This cross-border travel guide leads to outstanding examples of Christian culture and spirituality in the Alpine-Adriatic region,” says editor Matthias Kapeller. At the intersection of Germanic, Romanic and Slavic cultures, Christianity has been a central and formative force for more than 2,000 years. “The sacred treasures presented are visible examples of the diversity of history, art and architecture in this region,” says Kapeller.
For Karl Hren, the director of the Hermagoras publishing house, the Alpine-Adriatic region is unique in Europe in terms of diversity in nature and culture. “This is expressed excellently in the new book and is complemented by the unifying power of the common Christian, sacred heritage,” says Hren.
Book cover © KK
Three-country region
The basis for this fifth “Sources of Strength” book is also the series of brochures from the press office of the Diocese of Gurk on Christianity in the Alps-Adriatic region. This series, whose content has been updated and expanded in the books, has been searching for significant testimonies of Christian tradition in the tri-border region of Carinthia, Slovenia and Friuli in annual editions since 2004 and is now out of print. This publication was created with the support of the Carinthian Raiffeisen banks and the Wiener Städtische Versicherung Kärnten/Osttirol, which also made the publication of the series of brochures possible.
Understanding
In his foreword to the book, Raiffeisen Landesbank board director Georg Messner writes that the sources of strength presented in the book are “an expression of a deep spiritual connection that brings people together across borders and gives them hope, comfort and inspiration.” Each of these sources of strength also contributes, says Messner, to “making faith alive and tangible.”
In his foreword, Ferdinand Bucher, the regional director of the Vienna Municipality, refers to the special nature of the Alpine-Adriatic region as a “space for mutual understanding, cohesion and solidarity”. Christianity shapes the identity in this region “as a significant cultural and spiritual force”, says Bucher.
