Heiligenblut
Encyclopedia
Heiligenblut is a municipality
in the district of Spittal an der Drau
in the Austria
n state of Carinthia
. Situated in the high-Alpine
region of the Hohe Tauern
mountain range
at 1,288 meters, Heiligenblut is located at the foot of the Großglockner
, the highest mountain in Austria, and the Pasterze Glacier
. It is also the southern starting point of the scenic Großglockner Hochalpenstraße to Bruck
in Salzburg
, the continuation of the highway B107 from Lienz
in East Tyrol
. The municipality of Heiligenblut includes the Katastralgemeinden of Apriach, Hof, Rojach and Zlapp.
The Gothic pilgrimage church of Saint Vinzenz
, with its needle spire
, was built between 1460-1491 and contains a relic
of Christ
’s Holy Blood. According to legend the relic, which is kept in a sacrament house
, was brought here in 914 from Constantinople
by the Danish knight
Briccius. On his way home he was buried by an avalanche
and his corpse was found where three ears
of wheat
broke through the snow (see the coat of arms
). The church also houses a late-Gothic
winged altarpiece from 1520, and a crypt
and tomb
containing the remains of Briccius.
Once a gold mining
area from ancient history
to the Middle Ages
, Heiligenblut nowadays chiefly is a tourism
and mountaineering
resort
. Nearby attractions include the Heiligenblut-Roßbach-Schareck cable car (2,606 m), an open-air museum, the Stockmühlen mills in Apriach with nine flume mills, Lake Kachelsee to the west, the Möll waterfalls, the Gößnitz waterfalls, the Leiter waterfalls, the Margaritzen reservoir, and Lake Sandersee.
The construction of the nearby railway tunnel to the Fleißalm mountain area (1,798 m) is unique in Europe. The 1.6-kilometer long tunnel is filled with water during the summer but serves as a railway tunnel leading to the Fleißalm winter sports region in winter.
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
in the district of Spittal an der Drau
Spittal an der Drau (district)
The Bezirk Spittal an der Drau is an administrative district in Carinthia, Austria.Area of the district is 2,763.99 km², population is 81,719 , and population density 30 persons per km². It is Austria's second largest district by area...
in the Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n state of Carinthia
Carinthia (state)
Carinthia is the southernmost Austrian state or Land. Situated within the Eastern Alps it is chiefly noted for its mountains and lakes.The main language is German. Its regional dialects belong to the Southern Austro-Bavarian group...
. Situated in the high-Alpine
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
region of the Hohe Tauern
Hohe Tauern
The Hohe Tauern or High Tauern are a mountain range on the main chain of the Central Eastern Alps, comprising the highest peaks east of the Brenner Pass. The crest forms the southern border of the Austrian state of Salzburg with Carinthia and East Tyrol, while a small part in the southwest belongs...
mountain range
Mountain range
A mountain range is a single, large mass consisting of a succession of mountains or narrowly spaced mountain ridges, with or without peaks, closely related in position, direction, formation, and age; a component part of a mountain system or of a mountain chain...
at 1,288 meters, Heiligenblut is located at the foot of the Großglockner
Großglockner
The Grossglockner is, at 3,798 m above sea level, Austria's highest mountain and the highest mountain in the Alps east of the Brenner Pass...
, the highest mountain in Austria, and the Pasterze Glacier
Pasterze Glacier
The Pasterze, at approximately 8.4 kilometers in length, is the longest glacier in Austria and in the Eastern Alps reaching from the Johannisberg to above sea level. It lies within the Hohe Tauern mountain range in Carinthia, directly beneath Austria's highest mountain, the Grossglockner...
. It is also the southern starting point of the scenic Großglockner Hochalpenstraße to Bruck
Bruck an der Großglocknerstraße
Bruck an der Großglocknerstraße is a municipality in the district of Zell am See , in the state of Salzburg in Austria. The population is 4438....
in Salzburg
Salzburg (state)
Salzburg is a state or Land of Austria with an area of 7,156 km2, located adjacent to the German border. It is also known as Salzburgerland, to distinguish it from its capital city, also named Salzburg...
, the continuation of the highway B107 from Lienz
Lienz
Lienz is a medieval town in the Austrian state of Tyrol. It is the administrative centre of the Lienz district, which covers all of East Tyrol. The municipality also includes the cadastral subdivision of Patriasdorf.-Geography:...
in East Tyrol
East Tyrol
East Tyrol, or East Tirol , is an exclave of the Austrian state of Tyrol, sharing no border with the main North Tyrol part of the state. It corresponds with the administrative district of Lienz....
. The municipality of Heiligenblut includes the Katastralgemeinden of Apriach, Hof, Rojach and Zlapp.
Vincent of Saragossa
Saint Vincent of Saragossa, also known as Vincent Martyr, Vincent of Huesca or Vincent the Deacon, is the patron saint of Lisbon. His feast day is 22 January in the Roman Catholic Church and Anglican Communion and 11 November in the Eastern Orthodox Churches...
, with its needle spire
Spire
A spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, particularly a church tower. Etymologically, the word is derived from the Old English word spir, meaning a sprout, shoot, or stalk of grass....
, was built between 1460-1491 and contains a relic
Relic
In religion, a relic is a part of the body of a saint or a venerated person, or else another type of ancient religious object, carefully preserved for purposes of veneration or as a tangible memorial...
of Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
’s Holy Blood. According to legend the relic, which is kept in a sacrament house
Church tabernacle
A tabernacle is the fixed, locked box in which, in some Christian churches, the Eucharist is "reserved" . A less obvious container, set into the wall, is called an aumbry....
, was brought here in 914 from Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
by the Danish knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
Briccius. On his way home he was buried by an avalanche
Avalanche
An avalanche is a sudden rapid flow of snow down a slope, occurring when either natural triggers or human activity causes a critical escalating transition from the slow equilibrium evolution of the snow pack. Typically occurring in mountainous terrain, an avalanche can mix air and water with the...
and his corpse was found where three ears
Ear (botany)
An ear is the grain-bearing tip part of the stem of a cereal plant, such as wheat or maize. It can also refer to "a prominent lobe in some leaves".The ear is a spike, consisting of a central stem on which grows tightly packed rows of flowers...
of wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
broke through the snow (see the coat of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
). The church also houses a late-Gothic
Gothic art
Gothic art was a Medieval art movement that developed in France out of Romanesque art in the mid-12th century, led by the concurrent development of Gothic architecture. It spread to all of Western Europe, but took over art more completely north of the Alps, never quite effacing more classical...
winged altarpiece from 1520, and a crypt
Crypt
In architecture, a crypt is a stone chamber or vault beneath the floor of a burial vault possibly containing sarcophagi, coffins or relics....
and tomb
Tomb
A tomb is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes...
containing the remains of Briccius.
Once a gold mining
Gold mining
Gold mining is the removal of gold from the ground. There are several techniques and processes by which gold may be extracted from the earth.-History:...
area from ancient history
Ancient history
Ancient history is the study of the written past from the beginning of recorded human history to the Early Middle Ages. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, with Cuneiform script, the oldest discovered form of coherent writing, from the protoliterate period around the 30th century BC...
to the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, Heiligenblut nowadays chiefly is a tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
and mountaineering
Mountaineering
Mountaineering or mountain climbing is the sport, hobby or profession of hiking, skiing, and climbing mountains. While mountaineering began as attempts to reach the highest point of unclimbed mountains it has branched into specialisations that address different aspects of the mountain and consists...
resort
Resort town
A resort town, sometimes called a resort city or resort destination, is a town or area where tourism or vacationing is a primary component of the local culture and economy...
. Nearby attractions include the Heiligenblut-Roßbach-Schareck cable car (2,606 m), an open-air museum, the Stockmühlen mills in Apriach with nine flume mills, Lake Kachelsee to the west, the Möll waterfalls, the Gößnitz waterfalls, the Leiter waterfalls, the Margaritzen reservoir, and Lake Sandersee.
The construction of the nearby railway tunnel to the Fleißalm mountain area (1,798 m) is unique in Europe. The 1.6-kilometer long tunnel is filled with water during the summer but serves as a railway tunnel leading to the Fleißalm winter sports region in winter.