Pöllau#

Poellau, Styria, market in the district of Hartberg, alt. 425 m, pop. 1,999, area 4.62 km2, in the valley basin of the Poellauer Saifen river, east Styria, in the Poellautal Nature Park (since 1983, area 120 km2). - Federal Armed Forces field agency, Landwehr camp of the Federal Armed Forces, day-care home of the Lebenshilfe organisation; wood processing, building trade, textile factory, orchards; cloth-making industry ("Poellau Loden") until the 19th  century. - First documented mention around 1163; former Abbey of Augustinian Canons Regular (1482-1785) with collegiate church (today parish church), built between 1701 and 1712 by J. Carlone and R. Horner, an outstanding example of Styrian Baroque and a replica of St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome, frescoes by M. v. Goerz, altar-piece by J. A. Moelk (1778 and 1779), J. C. Hackhofer ("Queen of the Rosary", in 1722) and M. Altomonte (1725), stone pietà (around 1420); collegiate church and palace with new vestry (in 1720, cavetto vault and frescoes by M. v. Goerz, in 1723), old cupboards (17th  century) and wood portal; Calvary with Sacred Heart chapel (1699, enlarged in 1750, fresco by Moelk) and Heart of Mary chapel (1715); column dedicated to the Virgin Mary (1681); town hall with pillory (around 1600); many beautiful old houses (16th to the 19th  century); local heritage museum (1910).

Literature#