Churches & Monasteries in Brixen

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 little church of St. Nikolaus in the hamlet of Klerant (850m) dates from the early 15th century and impresses with its rich late gothic frescoes. Besides the depiction of the legends of St. Nicholas, the cycle of the Passion of Christ has been well preserved. The careful decoration of the Salvation Mirror comes from the Brixen school of painting of Master Leonhard (around 1470).

The pilgrimage church Maria am Sand, with its picture of the Virgin Mary possessing miraculous powers who gives the Christ baby a pear, is the old parish church of Milland and goes back to the 14th century. Around the middle of the 15th century, the church was extended with a vault in the nave, a tower as well as a pointed arch-portal and it was changed into Baroque style in the 18th century.

Tils with a late gothic church has been recently elevated to a parish. It is consecrated to St. Vitus, the old saint of the farmers, whose painful martyrdom is represented in the nave.

On the  "Europa-Besinnungsweg" you reach the little church St. Cyrill, which was first mentioned in a document in 1238. In the 17th century it became  a baroque church, but some medieval frescos are still preserved. These include representations of St. Christopher, St. Oswald, St. Mary MagdaleneMary with the child, St. Lawrence and St. Cyril of Thessaloniki.

Monastery of Novacella was founded by the blessed bishop Hartmann in 1142 as an Augustinian monastery. Thanks to its monastery school it became one of the most important centre of education and art. In 1742 the monastery was the largest in Tyrol, the Romanesque abbey church of Abbazia di Novacella was redesigned in Baroque style. Unique at  the monastery of Novacella is the round building of Castello dell'Angelo, former hostel and defence facility. The Gothic cloister benefits from valuable frescoes, while the well in the courtyard depicts the wonders of the world. The 8th wonder is said to be Novacella. The Rococo library of the monastery  of Novacella is uniquely beautiful, the Pinacoteca houses medieval paintings by outstanding masters Michael and Friedrich Pacher and Marx Reichlich. The Turkish wall dates back to turbulent times. The mill, water buildings and wine cellar point to the economic importance of the monastery. The area around the monastery is the northernmost winegrowing region of Italy with the well-known white wines Sylvaner, Müller-Thurgau and Kerner.

Other information about the monastery of Novacella

Visit without guide from Monday to Saturday from 10:00am to 5:00pm

The historical garden: The historical garden is situated at the entrance to the monastery complex. It reopened in summer 2004 following extensive restoration work. The monastery garden can be visited indipendently from Thuersday to Saturday from 10:00 am until 5:00 pm

The monastery of Novacella is closed on Sundays and Catholic Holidays. 

The Capuchin church and convent are located not far south of the Cathedral Square in Brixen/Bressanone. This is a simple and unadorned religious building with a small facade tower in the style of the mendicant churches. Inside, the nave is covered by a barrel vault. The strongly indented choir room just closes off. On the left side of the nave there is a round-arched side chapel which houses the organ. The interior has no wall paintings or stucco work.

Romanesque St. Michael’s church of the 11th century, Gothic choir loft and the „Weißer Turm“ (White Tower, 72 m) dating from the 15th century, hall church of the late Gothic around 1500, after 1750 redesigned in a baroque manner with frescoes by Josef Hautzinger, Troger’s apprentice from Vienna, altars of the Baroque, Classicism and Romanticism. Famous sculpture of Simon, the „Kreuzträger“.

The cathedral of Brixen/Bressanone is one of the most important sacred buildings along the Alpine area. Its origins go back to the year 980 AD. Due to a major fire in the 12th century, it was redesigned in romanesque style with a three-aisled nave and two façade towers. In the 18th century the baroque reconstruction took place, to which the cathedral owes its present appearance. Inside, the baroque idea of triumph was brought to perfection with wonderful ceiling paintings (f.ex. in Paul Troger's Adoration of the Lamb). The cathedral has a valuable interior with 33 different types of marble. The high altar, which was completed by Tehodor Benedetti, is one of the most important baroque altars in Tyrol. In addition, this church was equipped with a magnificent organ.

The Roman Catholic Church of the Congregatio Jesu in Brixen is consecrated to St. Joseph. The classicist building was owned by the Order of the English Misses until it was taken over by the Autonomous Province of South Tyrol in 2011.

The classicist façade is simple and is divided by four pilasters. These are crowned by a triangular gable. Above the rectangular portal there is a round-arched window.

In addition to stucco work by Franz Singer, there is a high altarpiece inside the church depicting the death of St. Joseph. It was probably painted around 1770 by Josef Anton Zoller for the parish church in Schmirn. To the left and right of it are the figures of St. Joachim and St. Anna.  On the left side altar is the painting of St. Philomena by Gebhard Flatz (1870), on the right side altar the communion of St. Antonius by Jakob Fink (1846) is shown. In the choir there is a ceiling painting with the representation of Jesus in the temple by Josef Mühlmann (1854). The other paintings and the neo-baroque decorative painting are by Johann Matthias Peskoller (1904).

It was probably originally the Palatine Chapel and was enlarged several times. Later, a collegiate chapter was established there (1214), in addition to the cathedral chapter, and after its dissolution it served as a church for the pastoral care of students. The altarpieces were painted by Theophilos Pollak (around 1638). Today it is the church of popular piety, with Mary Help of Christians, Pilgrim Madonna, Madonna of the Ear of Corn, Lourdes Mother of God, St. Joseph, Rochus and Sebastian, Rita of Cascia.

The Brixen Poor Clares Monastery was already founded during the lifetime of St. Clare.
There is no documents about the foundation itself and where the first sisters came from. The oldest written document is a letter of liberty from the Prince-Bishop of Bressanone, Henry IV, dated May 10, 1235, in which the monastery and the newly built church in honour of the Virgin Mary and St. Francis were freed from all secular and spiritual judicial constraints.

The church of St. Elisabeth was originally a romanesque church, which was rebuilt in the 15th century into a gothic church and then in the 17th century into a baroque church. At the entrance portal there is a crucifixion scene and the coronation scene of Mary with the Franciscan saints (St. John of Capristan, St. Bernardine of Siena, St. James of the Mark, St. Elizabeth, St. Clare and St. Agnes). The interior is indented with a groined vault above which the Sisters' Choir is located. The choir of nuns, which is located above the vault, is under strict enclosure. Behind the choir stalls there is a small "chair" for each sister, which is individually decorated with devotional objects and pictures.

The walls of the presbytery show scenes from the life and work of St. Elisabeth of Thuringia (left: Rose miracle and the banishment from the Wartburg; right: death and burial of the saint). The high altar is a niche construction with four columns and a volute gable (by Peter Passler from Neustift). The picture shows the alms donation of St. Elisabeth. It is flanked by St. Francis and St. Clare. While the left side altar shows a scene of shepherd adoration, the right side altar picture shows Joachim, Anna and little Mary.

Already in the Bronze Age, there existed a settlement at Abeins/Albes, mentioned in a document for the first time around 960, under the name of Allpines, later Albines. The actual church was built around 1320, at the end of the 15th century it was rebuilt and finally, in 1784, it was changed into Baroque style. It is consecrated to the Saints Hermagoras and Fortunat (painting on the high altar). The side statues date from the first part of the 18th century and represent the St. Albuin and the St. Ingenuin, while the wall- painting on the front and the ceiling fresco on the inside date from the period around 1700. The oldest church of the village is the Margarethen- Church. It has been arched in the late Gothic period, changed into Baroque in the 17th century with remnants of Gothic and Baroque frescoes. Precious Mary- statue of Master Leonhard von Brixen.

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.

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 small church in St. Jakob got its actual shape in the 15th century. The Christophours – painting on the outer wall as well as several paintings of saints on the inside were made by an unknown master of Brixen of the 15th century. The altars are new Gothic.The church is locked for safety reasons, the keys are available at the nearby farm.

The Church of Saints Gotthard and Erardo was built in the 13th century by the Voitsperg next to the ancient preposition and restored in the 14th century. Rebuilt in baroque form by auxiliary bishop Wilhelm von Vintler and consecrated in 1695. Since 1971 it has been used as an evangelical worship.

To the south of the cloister is the chapel of St. John with its unobtrusive exterior, originally probably the house chapel of the bishop, later the baptistery. It has two floors and is decorated with precious frescoes from the romanesque (1250), early (around 1320) and high gothic (1st century of the 15th century). According to tradition, the Synod of Bishops met here in 1048, which Emperor Henry IV had convened in the course of the investiture conflict in order to have Pope Gregory VII deposed and elevate Clement III to the position of antipope

Of demotic power is the church of St. Leonhard. Leonhard, the patron saint of cattle and prisoners, is commemorated by the heavy chain that winds one and a half times around the entire church. Consecrated in 1194, the church was redesigned around 1430 and baroque in the 18th century. The rich ceiling stucco from Franz Singer's workshop (around 1770) is a reminder of the Baroque and the creative joy of master builder Tangl. More recent history is evoked by the frescoes by Toni Kirchmair (around 11920), which interpret St. Leonhard as the patron saint of prisoners and fallen soldiers of the First World War.

The parish church of the same name, which was first mentioned in 1177, is located in the rapidly growing capital St. Andrä. Its late gothic reconstruction in the period around 1485 with a presbytery and tower which is still characteristic today.  In the 18th century a striking baroque style was introduced. Georg Tangl, director of the Brixen seminary and  priest of St. Andrä, provided for a rich decoration with stucco (Franz Singer) around 1770. Around 1736 the ceiling frescoes by Jakob Jennewein depicting the martyrdom of St. Andrew were painted. In 1930 the altarpiece was painted by Johann Baptist Oberkofler.

The Maria Hilf Chapel in the cemetery is a compact octagonal building dating from 1696, and the octagon, a work by the Bolzano master builder Delai, is considered an important model of Baroque central building. The altars of Mary, Anthony and Notburga are also works of art from the late 17th century.

The seminary of Brixen has a very interesting history. The current seminary building was built in the years 1764-1771 under Prince-Bishop Leopold of Spaur on the site of the old pilgrims' hospice and was consecrated on 28 June 1767. Today the seminary is the seat of the Theological-Philosophical Seminary.

At the eastern side of Brixen, beyond the confluence of the Rienz river and the Eisack river, in the village of Milland a new parish church was built between 1984-1985, and it is consecrated to the Saint Father Josef Freinademetz. The church is a curiosity, a work of modern architecture, a sacred place full of light.In the basement, there is an exhibition about the life and the work of the church patron, the Saint Father Josef Freinademetz, the Tyrolian China- missionary.
Guided tours possible after request.