Petschnitzen: Hamlet above Lake Faak

Petschnitzen is a small hamlet east of and above Lake Faak. It lies on a high terrace between the ridges of Tabor, Wauberg, Rudnik and Bleiberg. Archaeological finds and local religious buildings add historical and architectural interest to the landscape. If you are choosing a destination for a hotel stay, these features provide concrete points of reference for understanding the place.

Location and archaeological traces

The high terrace describes the landform on which Petschnitzen lies; the four ridges are additional landscape reference points. Numerous ceramic fragments and metal slag were recovered during work on a horse paddock in the village. These finds provide evidence of a Celtic-Roman settlement in this area. The hamlet’s topographical setting is thus connected with a specific archaeological indication of earlier settlement.

Chapel and wayside chapel

At the chapel in Petschnitzen, the two outer side niches are painted. The vaulted ceiling inside is also painted. The paintings mentioned are therefore found both on the exterior and inside the building. For travellers interested in culture, these are two clearly located details that help define the chapel’s design. The chapel is described as the final station of a Good Friday Way of the Cross that begins at Petschnitzen parish church. For May, it is identified as either the first or the last May devotion of the month.

The wayside chapel has a semicircular entrance, closed by an ornate wrought-iron grille door. Its slightly curved roof is covered with wooden boards. There is a large niche in the gable triangle, which was once painted; this painting was therefore part of its earlier design. The building also has an apse. The wayside chapel stands on a south-facing slope and is oriented towards the south. The hillside location and orientation describe different features: the setting in the terrain and the building’s compass direction.

The cemetery cross

The Petschnitzen cemetery cross is a large wooden cross with a rhombus-shaped back panel and a pitched roof covered with wooden boards. Rhombus-shaped means diamond-shaped and describes the form of the back panel more precisely. The corpus is a finely crafted hand-carved work with natural flesh tones, meaning the figure has a natural skin tone. The cross stands in the northern part of the cemetery and faces south. These two details do not contradict each other: the first identifies its location within the cemetery, while the second describes the direction in which the cross faces.

The information about orientation also helps place the wayside chapel and the cemetery cross in context. The wayside chapel stands on a south-facing slope and is oriented towards the south; for the cross, its northern location within the cemetery is stated separately from its southward orientation. This makes it possible to consider the terrain, location and orientation as distinct aspects of local architectural forms.

Discover more destinations: Verditz, Landskron, Töplitsch, Gerlitzen, Feistritz An Der Drau, Zlan, Rosegg, Afritz

For the main travel overview: Villach.