Ossiach Attractions

On the southern bank of the Ossiacher See lies Ossiach, the largest village in the area (500m/1,641ft; pop. 670), with a Benedictine abbey founded in the 11th C., rebuilt in the 16th C. and dissolved in 1783. The former Abbey Church of the Assumption is now the local parish church. Originally a Romanesque pillared basilica it was remodelled on Baroque lines in the 18th C. The stucco decoration and wall and ceiling paintings by J. F. Fromiller (c. 1750) are very impressive; note also the Late Gothic winged altar in the northwest chapel, depicting a Madonna with Child between two saints. The former abbey buildings to the southwest of the church are attractively decorated with 18th C. frescos and stucco work.