Kerschdorf: Cultural Heritage and Wayside Shrines

If you are looking for a hotel in Kerschdorf and are interested in local history, you will find several distinct cultural points of interest. These include the former Georgijagen custom on the eve of St. George’s Day, the branch church of St. Ulrich, and the Wrotschnig Cross and Alte Kreuz wayside shrines. The subjects range from communal customs to specific architectural forms. To get your bearings, it is helpful to distinguish between them: the custom can be understood in terms of its former practice and its recognition as cultural heritage, while the monuments can be considered by their construction, motif or location. This gives you a glimpse of different facets, rather than reducing all cultural topics to a single attraction.

Customs and a protected church

In Kerschdorf ob Velden/Črešnje, a group of children once walked through the village on the eve of St. George’s Day. This social custom is called Georgijagen or Šentjurja jagat and was added to Carinthia’s intangible cultural heritage in 2025. The dates have different significance: the procession used to take place on the eve of St. George’s Day; the custom was included in the cultural heritage list in 2025. This helps place the custom in its historical and cultural context. For travelers interested in local traditions, the name, timing and status as intangible cultural heritage are the specific features of this practice.

The branch church of St. Ulrich adds another facet: it is protected as a monument under an ordinance. While the Georgijagen custom is a social practice from the past, the church is a specific building with protected status. This allows intangible cultural heritage and monument protection to be viewed as distinct aspects. The church complements the traditional custom with an architectural point of reference; both subjects are part of local history, but they answer different questions.

Two wayside shrines, different features

The Wrotschnig Cross is notable for its construction, image motif, material and location. It is a broad-pillar wayside shrine on the path to Forstsee. In 1979, Friedrich Jerina painted the image of a saint in its niche; phyllite slate was used for the Wrotschnig Cross. The name describes its architectural form, while the niche, motif, artist and year provide more detail about its design. The material adds another aspect to this description. Two details help with orientation: the cross stands south of the Kerschdorf Forstseeweg and is a wayside shrine on the path to Forstsee. This makes it possible to identify the monument by both its design and its location.

The Alte Kreuz differs in form: it is a three-sided column wayside shrine at the Bürger property, west of the fire station. This describes both its construction and its location. Compared with the Wrotschnig Cross, the name for its form marks a clear difference: the former is a broad-pillar wayside shrine with an image of a saint in a niche, while the latter is a three-sided column wayside shrine. The location details also point to distinct landmarks. This comparison is more useful for orientation than the names alone, since both include the word “cross,” but their architectural descriptions refer to different forms. Anyone interested in historical wayside shrines can use their construction, motifs and respective location details to find their way.

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