Lavant, Tirol#

Lavant, Tirol, municipality in the district of Lienz, alt. 675 m, pop. 249, area 22.54 km2, in the upper Drau valley, south-east of Lienz. - Sawmill, asphalt production and 2 gravel producing companies. - Archaeological finds from late Antiquity and early Christian period on the Kirchbichl mountain (after 1948): from the 5th century onwards, replaced the settlement of Aguntum; retreat castle with episcopal residence, finds of Roman tombs and votive altars (2nd and 3rd century A.D.); fortification (gate flanked by 2 towers), early Christian church built in 4 phases (from 4th century onwards, destroyed in the 7th century; construction of an emergency church at later period), remains of residential buildings in style of late Antiquity (probably a bishop´s palace). Parish church, first documentary mention in 1090, pilgrimage church from the 17th century onwards, tower, west gate and choir preserved from Gothic period, new building in 1770/1771; frescoes, rocaille paintings and interiors dating from after 1770; Gothic church of St. Petrus and St. Paulus, built in 1485 on top of a fortification building from the Middle Ages and a Romanesque vault, remains of Gothic winged altars (around 1500), flat Gothic wooden ceiling (1516).

Literature#