Researchers find evidence of Knights Templar in chapel
research
Salzburg researchers have found a chapel in Styria, possibly built by the Knights Templar. The frescoes in the medieval church show symbols of the Knights Templar, including the swastika – later the symbol of National Socialism.
The Johanneskapelle stands at the foot of the Grimmings in Pürgg in Styria. Salzburg researchers suspect that the church was built by the Knights Templar in the 12th century. “What is special about this church is that it is a fortified church. This can be seen from the fortification walls. These were probably built by the Templars to protect the local population in times of crisis, ”says Herbert Heiss. The Salzburg police officer discovered this at the Templars together with his wife, who is also a police officer. The two travel in the footsteps of the Knights Templar across Europe.
Frescoes with Arabic influences too
The Templars built fortified monasteries along the pilgrimage routes. During the Crusades, they were the Pope’s elite force in the Holy Land. “This old Arabic script, which is read from right to left, is unusual. It means “Allah”. The painter must have taken it with him from the holy land, from Jerusalem ”, says Elisabeth Heiß, a policewoman from Salzburg.
Not only the police couple is fascinated by the history of the Johanneskapelle and the knightly order. The sisters Magdalena and Sophie Kirchgasser are writing their doctoral theses at the University of Salzburg about the order of knights. “The colors that run through the Johanneskapelle are also extremely interesting: black stands for material value. Red stands for the victim. White stands for spirituality ”, say the two sisters.
Hitler may find inspiration in Pürgg
These three colors were also the symbolic colors of the National Socialists. And in fact Adolf Hitler could have got the inspiration for the swastika in Pürgg. “Hitler described the same swastika in“ Mein Kampf ”. We don’t know whether Hitler was here, but it cannot be ruled out, ”says Daniele Mattiangeli, legal historian at the University of Salzburg.
Salzburg researchers on the trail of the Knights Templar in Styria