Churches and monasteries

Built in the first years of the 20th Century and consecrated in 1904. In Possession of the Hotel Lago di Braies/Pragser Wildsee.

Maria Rast Chapel: the church can be found just outside the village, on the path of the same name. History: this is the first historical church building in the area. In 1874 Josef Vonstadl, the diocese architect designed the building, and it was built shortly after. The neo romantic style is clearly visible, the bell wall, cross vaulting, arched windows and much more. In the yard, if you look carefully, you will the mosaic Stations of the Cross made by the local artist Robert Scherer. Architectural style: this small church is a well-loved place of pilgrimage, even today. Marriages also take place here. Walking: a walk around this area is well worth it as it is not too strenuous. On longer walks from Girlan to St Michael, you can stop at this delightful little church.

The church of St. John in Tschötsch (mentioned in 1406) was built from granite blocks of Brixen.On the façade St. Christophan reminds old transitions in the low mountain range. Slight stucco on the inside of the church reveals renovations in the Baroque period, from that time dates also the fresco of the baptism of Christ in the vault (Joseph Anton Zoller, 1763).During the World War, the church withstands some bombs, which were thought for the near bridge of the village of Albeins.

The church dates back to the 12th century, but probably its origins are even more remote. The Romanesque building and the Lombard-style bell tower have been subject to many changes. Inside, there is a unique cycle of frescos in Byzantine style dating from 1200-1220. On the ouside walls there are other, probably late 14th century, frescos. Masses (in Italian): Weekdays: 8:00 a.m

The Neo-Gothic church in Pedross was built from 1908 to 1912 according to the plans of the brothers Paul and Theodor Huter from Innsbruck under the curate Franz Habicher and inaugurated on 28 October 1912 by the Brixen prince-bishop Franz Egger. Patron Saint is the St. Martin, pictured in the large window behind the high altar. The church is painted yellow. It has an open porch and a rose window above the entrance to the west. The interior of the church is decorated with a barrel-shaped ribbed vault. The church has 10 large windows, all of which were donated by private individuals. The church has three altars designed, carved and painted by Josef Bachlechner. The pulpit, designed by Josef Bachlechner and made by J. Peitner from Wilten, shows Christ as sower and the four evangelists. The Stations of the Cross is a relief in wood, executed by the sculptor Franz Kobald from Schwaz. The left side altar is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, the right to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The central theme of the neo-Gothic winged altar in the presbytery is the Holy Trinity. The outer sides of the wings show the victim of Melchizedek on the left and the sacrifice of Abraham on the right. Inside the altar shrine the saints Wolfgang and Wendelin are depicted. Wendelin is the patron saint of shepherds and peasants and was much revered in Langtaufers. The chapel in the nearby "Ochsenberg" is also consacrated the St Wendelin. Under the windows of the presbytery the seven sacraments of angels are represented in round medallions. On the ceiling of the whole church various herbs, flowers and medicinal plants are depicted. The cemetery is built around the church. Here the deceased are buried from thea first part of the valley.

Patronal feast: January 17th The oldest parts of the church are in the tower (13th century) and in the nave walls. Around 1430, the Gothic Polygon Choir was added. The uniformly re-creation of the choir from 1472 have been carried out by the two painters Bernhard and Jakob, who worked in Bolzano. The great Christophorus on the southern façade is also a work of this painting group.

The church is accessible only during the holy masses (Monday 8 am).

Source: Parrish office Kaltern

Lanegg Abbey and the Church of the Holy Cross occupy an imposing position on the mountainside. Lanegg Abbey is the cradle and mother house of the branch of the Sisters of the German Order that was revived here in 1841 after dying out during the Reformation.

In 1911/12, the Abbey was extended by the addition of the neo-Baroque-style Church. The altars and stations of the cross were produced in the workshop of Josef Obletter in Val Gardena.

Holy Mass:
Every day at 7.00 in german language

Beneath St. Andrä, in a charming position on a hill, the small church of St. John the Baptist is situated in Karnol. Mentioned already in 1133, the renovation and the decor of the 15th century characterize the little house of God.A tender net- vault covers the inside, that impressions with cycles of frescoes of different periods. Beside the life and the death of the church patron John, the works of mercy and some saints, the martyrdom of the saint Ursula is of extraordinary quality.The representation in the apsis dates back to the Renaissance (around 1520), it shows the return of the saint Ursula with 11,000 virgins from Rome to Köln, where arrow riflemen of the Huns’ king Guam kill her. The wide scenery of the frescoes is flanked by John the Baptist and John the Evangelist.

Patronal feast: November 6th The late Romanesque rotunda was probably connected to a medieval pilgrim hospice. On the frescoes on the inside, at the feet of the sculputre "St. Leonhard with the chain", the coat of arms of the lords von Fuchs is recognizable. Around 1420 a new building of the church was built. The equipment came from the "Grabenkirche" of Bolzano.

Tower in Pianizza di Sotto
The medieval residential tower was owned by the lords Fuchs von Fuchsenberg in 1739.

Source: Parrish office Kaltern

The church is located on a moraine heap at 1873 meters above sea level and is thus one of the highest parish churches in the diocese of Bolzano-Bressanone. The church is dedicated to St. Nicholas (6 December), the second patron is the St. Magdalena (July 22). It was first built in 1440. In the 1730 it was plundered by soldiers.

Patronal feast: November 25th

The church had a late-Romanesque preceding building, which has now disappeared. The new construction dates back to the 15th century, the choir Fresco (Marientod), to about 1400. Agnes von Werdenberg, the widow of Henry of Rottenburg, donated the fresco to the side altar. The church was built by architects from Como, around 1517.

Source: Parrish office Kaltern

A monument of the High Baroque, it is located at the eastern entrance of the old country road in the village center.

The church of St. Mary is built in Gothic style. The Gothic middle relief and the side figures are significant. From the church there starts a path of meditation which leads to the chapel San Pietro in Monte/St. Peter am Kofl.

ST. MAGDALENE'S CHURCH IN MOOS (Mooskirche): St. Magdalene’s Church was built in the year 1490 through a donation provided by Countess Paula von Gonzaga, wife of Margrave Leonhard von Görz. The early baroque high altar dates back to approx. 1600. A relief plaque depicting the Adoration of the Magi, a work by Michael Parth from the late Gothic period (around 1520), adorns the high altar. The church is located a short distance outside of town in the direction of Welsberg/Monguelfo. Open to the public: Early April – early October 8am - 7pm

With the miraculous great Lord of Agumes the Church of St. Georg, visible from a distance, it turned into a popular destination for pilgrimages.

The modest little church in Maria Saal was built in the mid-1600s and then was expanded in 1719. According to a local legend the miraculous image above the altar had originally hung in a sheep barn. Due to an ever-growing number of pilgrims then finally a church was built. Like many other churches, this one too was closed down under the reign of Joseph II. In 1847, it was re-inaugurated by prince bishop Johannes Tschiderer who celebrated his first mass in Collalbo on August 3rd 1800. Tschiderer was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1996.

The rather particular motive, a fresco of the Madonna with an umbrella, in the round arch between presbytery and nave has contributed to this pilgrimage church’s popularity. The fresco was painted by Alexander Dejaco as an expression of gratitude for his unscathed return from World War I, leaning on the prayer “Under thy shield and protection we seek refuge, o holy mother of God”. This painting also takes on a special meaning as the Renon mountain is a rather arid area, thus its farmers would pray to the Holy Mother for rain in times of great draughts and water scarceness.  

It is an insular, flat - roofed, long - standing church with a semicircular apse from 1130. Romanesque and Gothic frescoes lend the interior an extraordinary artistic appearance. The composition of the Romanesque frescoes is interpreted as traditio legis, the Gothic painting shows scenes from the life of Mary and the birth of Jesus

This modern church, which recalls the buildings of De Chirico, is located in Piazza Mazzini. Masses in Italian: weekdays (Monday to Saturday): 5:00 p.m. Wednesdays (bilingual mass): 5 p.m. Sunday: 10:30 a.m. & 6:00 p.m. Masses in German: Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays: 6:00 p.m. Wednesdays (bilingual mass): 5 p.m. Days preceding holidays: 6:30 p.m. Sundays and public holidays: 9:00 a.m.

The Christkönigskirche church, also known as the new parish church, was built between 1961 and 1963. The church has a flat-ceiling nave with a separate altar area. The two stained glass windows are by Heiner Gschwendt from Klausen/Chiusa, the church organ, consecrated in 1987, is by Andrea Zeni, and all other works of art connected with the church, including the granite fountain in front of the church and the statue of the Archangel Michael made of Lasa marble housed in a niche on the church square, are by the famous artist Friedrich Gurschler (1923-2020†).

Friedrich Gurschler was born in February 1923 on a farm near Unsere Frau/Madonna di Senales in Schnalstal Valley and is an honorary citizen of Partschins/Parcines.

Martinsweg trail is an easily accessible, newly laid circular route named after the small Church of St. Martin, which is located close to the Eggerhöfe farmsteads.

The small chapel was built in 1867 and consecrated in honour of the picture of grace Maria Hilf in Innsbruck. In the chapel there are sculptures of Peter and Paul, Isidor and Hubertus. The chapel was last renovated in 1994.

Patronal feast: June 24th The construction dates are written on the church itself. The year 1581 can be seen at the end of the choir, 1586 at the southern entrance. The choir of the church was built in Gothic-renaissance mixed forms. The high altar contains an altarpiece of the painter Johann Degler of Funes. 

The church is only accessible during holy masses.

Source: Parrish office Kaltern

Not far from the San Giuseppe (St. Joseph) Parish Church in Riomolino (Mühlbach) is the early Gothic church of St. Mary and the adjacent Maria Steinach Convent. These were built in 1241 by Countess Adelaide, the daughter of Alberto, Count of Tyrol. Legend has it that two doves appeared to show where the Countess should build the convent. During the reign of the Austrian Emperor Joseph II, the convent was closed. It was re-opened in 1848 by the Dominican Nun´s Order of Linz.

Patronal feast: 6th of December

The core building dates back to the 13th century (late Romanesque brickwork on the tower floor and on the west wall). Around 1520, a new building was built by construction workers from Como. Vault paintings have been made by Bartlmä Dill Riemenschneider, son of Tilman Riemenschneider. Since 1733 pilgrimage place.

Source: Parrish office Kaltern

Patronal feast: March 19th

The church of S. Giuseppe was realized around 1700. The constructional form of the low-drawn-in chancel with a straight ending frequently occurs from the middle of the 17th century onwards, and the ground plan has probably been designed by builder the master-builder Delai. Also worth to mention is the high altar, a marble structure with stone and wood sculptures.

The church is only accessible during holy masses.

Source: Parrish office Kaltern

The sawmill chapel is located at Dobbiaco Nuova/Neutoblach. The chapel is possible to reach by car or by foot. The walking trail can be continued until the Lake of Dobbiaco.  

The chapel was built because of the frequent threat of the Troge stream, the chapel was built in 1903                   

The church in St. Jakob in der Mahr was consecrated in 1428 to the patron of the pilgrims. On the inside, the artistic decor is remarkable: in the vault the lamb God, surrounded by 16 arms, such as Brixen, Kärnten, Austria and many local aristocratic families. The representation of the legend of Jakob in the choir is from the painter- school of Master Leonhard von Brixen.

The old parish church and the village of Graun were sacrificed for the sea stagnation in 1950. The new village was rebuilt in the fields of Margrond, and the church was much smaller in size than the new houses in Graun, planned by architect Erich Pattis from Bolzano.
The church is a simple hall construction with a wooden ceiling. In the back of the church, in the simple sanctuary, is the organ, in the foreground the apse with the image of Catherine of Alexandria on the side to which this church is also dedicated. The main picture, however, shows the Assumption of Mary into heaven, since in the year of the consecration of the Church, the Pope had proclaimed a Marian year.
The present parish church of Graun (foundation stone laying May 29, 1950, completion on 02.12.1951, consecration on May 18, 1954 by Bishop Josef Gargitter) was built together with the new village, but is much smaller than the old parish church.