Die Höhlenkirche im Burgberg von Pitten, Niederösterreich<br>Jamska cerkev v grajskem hribu v Pittnu, Spodnja Avstrija</br>

Abstract

Since approximately 1050, the cave church in the castle hill of Pitten had been used as a Christian parish church. Evidence supporting an old surmise that the cave had been used as a site for cultic ceremonies since prehistoric times has been discovered quite recently and the surmise can be corroborated at least for the periods of Hallstatt and Late Antiquity. In antiquity, the cave probably served as a Mitra temple, and in the High Middle Ages definitely functioned as a parish church. Containing frescoes painted in the Byzantine style, one of which depicts the birth of Christ, the church seems to be predestined for this very purpose.