Toutes les églises & monastères du Sud-Tyrol

The parish church to the hl. Veit was inaugurated at the beginning of the 16th century and restored again and again during the past centuries, even after the great fire in 1783.

The church in St. Konstantin is the most impressive daughter church of Völs and offers Gothic splendor and unique architecture. Its tower with onion dome and charming pointed arch portals is unique. Inside, a beautiful painting of the church patron Constantine awaits you, lovingly recreated by H. Pescoller. From here you can also enjoy a breathtaking view of the Schlern.

Saint Joseph Freinademetz, the saint of Alta Badia, is the first South Tyrolean Saint.

Today, the hamlet of Oies is a much-visited place of pilgrimage, especially the birthplace of the missionary Josef Freinademetz, who belonged to the Society of the Divine Word. The Steyl missionary was born in 1852 and died of typhoid fever in China on 28 January 1908.

He was beatified by Pope Paul VI in Rome on 19 October 1975 and canonised on 5 October 2003.

The cellar of the Oies farm was converted into a chapel and decorated with works by the artists Kollreider from Lienz and Lois Irsara from Badia.

The church is a Baroque building from the year 1671, by the master builder Franz Delai. Of particular interest are the Pietà, from around 1415, and the baptismal font (circa 1380-1400). In the cemetery chapel at the original shrine, there are significant Gothic frescoes from the year 1415.

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.

The parish church at Lana was built on the sites of a much older Romanesque church and consecrated in 1492. Of particular interest ist the Gothic altar by Hans Schnatterpeck. It has carved figures, some in life size; the altar reaches a height of 14.10 m; it is the largest Gothic altar in the whole Alpine area.

The parish church of Niederlana is among the most beautiful examples of South Tyrolean Late Gothic art. Its magnificent winged altar by Hans Schnatterpeck is known far beyond the borders of the country.

The Schnatterpeck altar is 14 m high and 7 m wide and is thus considered to be the largest winged altar in the Alps. It is carved from chestnut wood and elaborately gilded. The altarpiece was created at the beginning of the 16th century over a period of 8 years by the Swabian sculptor Hans Schnatterpeck and his journeyman. The altar was paid for by the citizens of Lana (approx. 800 people) themselves. Schnatterpeck received 1,600 Rhenish Gulden (i.e. the value of 3 farms) and 8 cartloads of wine.

The carved representation of biblical content contains a rare depiction of the Throne of Grace (God the Father holding the body of Christ on his lap), flanked by the life-sized statues of the apostles Peter and Paul. After carving, the altar was painted by Schnatterpeck and his journeyman and finally decorated with ducat gold. The altar was raised and consecrated around 1511 in the parish church of Niederlana and has never been removed, not even during the World Wars.

Holy Mass:
Friday at 19.00 in german language
Sunday at 10.00 in german language

Information and registration for groups:
until 19.05.2025 Mrs Gruber Ida - Mobile +39 333 434 259 6
From 20.05. contact Mr Edi Graber 349 2401340

The church is only open during guided tours!

During the fasting period, the altar remains closed!

Until 1860 the name of the Zallinger pastures was ‚Sassegg‘ which is Ladin-Bajuwaric meaning ‚hill on the big rock’, hence on the Plattkofel massif. From 1854, Karl von Zallinger-Stillendorf from Bozen/Bolzano with Bavarian origins is mentioned as proprietor. It was he who in 1857 prompted the building of the modest neo-Gothic chapel consecrated to the Virgin Mother. One year later, the little church was solemnly inaugurated. After its restoration in 1993, the Zallinger church needed a new facelift on the occasion of its 150th jubilee. The works were accomplished in autumn 2007 thanks to the generous backing of neighbours and sponsors. On July 28 2008 the accomplishment of the restoration was worthily celebrated.

The chapel was built by the local "Alpini" groups and it is dedicated to their patron saint, St.Maurice. It was inaugurated in Spring 2004. Open from mid of May till mid of October.

The mystical Hill of Tartsch towers amidst the green valley of Upper Vinschgau Valley, surrounded by the villages of Glurns/ Glorenza, Matsch/ Mazia and Mals/ Malles. Due to its position as viewing platform, the schist drumlin was already settled in prehistoric times. In the 11th century A.D. the Romanesque St. Veit Church dedicated to St. Vitus was erected upon a pagan cult site. It is one of the few churches that were never restored and displays precious medieval murals.
The Romanesque frescoes, which unfortunately have only been preserved in a few places, are of great art-historical importance. The interior of the church has a wooden ceiling from the 16th century. 
Traces of fire can still be seen in some parts of the church. These date back to the Engadine War of 1499. 

The church S. Veit is open from June to October every Thursday at 5pm for the guided tours in German and Italian language (Info: +39 0473 831190).

The church of St. Hippolytus in Glaiten/Le Coste overlooks the village of St. Leonhard/S. Leonardo, with a spectacular view of the valley.
Thanks to the discovery of traces of ancient settlements, the hill where the church is situated is the site of one of the most important archaeological discoveries in the valley. In the late 1950’s shards of pottery were found near the church and subsequently pieces of baked clay were also unearthed. However, since prehistoric relics linked to the church have not yet been found, the exact date of its origins is not known. In the meantime, archaeologists have postulated that the votive fire coincides with the Laugen-Melaun/Luco-Meluno culture (i.e. late Bronze Age, around 1100 – 900 BCE).
It is even more certain that in the Middle Ages the area was inhabited by farmers, as the farmsteads and other settlements already had Germanic place names.
Although the Church of St. Hippolytus itself dates back to the fourteenth century, it is believed that it originates much earlier, as the name suggests.
Of even greater archaeological importance is the Silberhütt-Höhe structure near Stulles/Stuls. Clearly visible on a hillside, it served as a place of pagan worship. As from 1937, several artefacts including fragments of clay, the relics of a mill as well as a perfectly preserved millstone lever were discovered during a logging operation. These and several other small findings suggest that by the third century these settlements survived till the end of the Iron Age. On the outer edge of the steep hill is a rock wall with a number of mysterious cup-like objects.
Though rarely visited, near the prehistoric archaeological sites and the ancient farm settlement next to the path, lies another noteworthy feature. The Church of St. Hippolytus is the repository of the only fresco cycle in the valley. During the course of minor renovations, remains of frescoes in Giotto’s style depicting scenes from the life of St. Hippolytus came to light. This discovery is of much greater significance and proves that the Florentine school of painting had already spread to Tyrol as early as the fourteenth century. Dating from 1380, these frescoes are attributed to the Bolzano School and may have been commissioned by the young nobleman, Hiltprant von Passeier (deceased in 1418). Due to the damage incurred during construction work in the nineteenth century, the frescoes have only partly been preserved. On the church’s southern façade, there is a portrayal of St. Christopher, which could be the work of the young artist who also painted the interior frescoes. With its coat of arms, the von Passeier nobility has become immortalized, thus increasing the importance of the Church of St. Hippolytus.

The church can be viewed from the outside only.

Paul Troger, Baroque painter, was born on 30th October 1698 the son of a sexton and dressmaker in Monguelfo. His “Troger-blue” is still mesmerizing.

The high altarpiece and the two side altarpieces in the parish church of St. Margaret were donated by Paul Troger to his home church. Paul Troger gave them as a gift to his home church, which was rebuilt from the ground up in the years 1736-1738.

The high altar painting shows the Holy Margareth with the Apostles Peter and Paul, Bishop Ulrich and St. George, the dragon slayer. The right side altar image represents a single successful composition of the adoration of the Magi, on the left side altar of St. Johannes Nepomuk shows how he distributed bread to the poor. 

Another work "St. Apostle Judas Thaddeus" by Paul Troger can be viewed at the Raiffeisen Bank, in the immediate vicinity of  S. Margereth Parish Church.

Documents mentioning St. John the Baptist Parish Church date back to 1164, although it existed long before (probably as a baptistery for the region), so it has already reached a venerable age. The Parish Church of Dorf Tirol/Tirolo is considered to be the oldest missionary church dedicated to St. John the Baptist in the area. The original Romanesque church (its tower is still preserved today) was eventually extended to include a Late Gothic choir.
One of the most interesting features of the church is the baptismal font of white Laas marble. The organ, with its large number of antique wooden and metal pipes is also a remarkable masterpiece from an artistic and historical point of view. The neo-Gothic high altar, bishop’s figures, statue of St. John above the baptismal font, oil paintings and crucifixion group are other works of art that are well worth seeing.
Among other things, Secco paintings from the year 1480 were brought to light by the renovation work on the Parish Church in 1969/70.

St Anne´s Chapel was built on a slab of rock south of the middle of Kastelruth. This High Baroque structure was consecrated in 1724 by Kaspar Ignaz von Künigl, Prince- Bishop of Brixen. The question of who served as master builder remains unresolved, but there are stylistic similarities to church buildings by the Delai family of master builders from bolzano.

The romanesque church called St. Kathrein has a gothic apse and dates from the thirteenth century. It has well-preserved frescoes from the fourteenth century and a winged altar in the late-Gothic Tyrolean style (which can only be see through an opening in the portal).

The story

Like many other churches in the region, the St. Kathrein church in Hafling was built on a site that was originally a pagan place of worship. Presumably there was already a small church standing here in the twelfth century, which was destroyed by fire in 1202. The only parts of the church that survived from the period before the church fire are the regularly stratified walls of the flat-roofed nave.

Fifty years later, a Romanesque church had already come into being, which was newly consecrated in 1251. In the late Gothic period, the church was rebuilt again. Two hundred years later, in 1452, it was once again rebuilt and rededicated.

The late-Gothic winged altar is a valuable decorative element of the church. The central part of the altar cabinet contains three wooden figures: the patron saint, St. Catherine, flanked by John the Baptist and Mary Magdalene.

The Legend

According to legend, the local people wanted to build a Christian church on this site. They charged two giants to procure stones. The giants, however, had promised to build at church in Lafenn at the exact same time. Having only one hammer between them, the two giants had to share. Eventually, a conflict arose between the pair over the hammer, so the Lafenn giant picked up an enormous boulder and threw it at the St. Catherine giant. The boulder missed its target, but can still be seen in the meadow near Sulfner, just below the church.

Dates church tours 2022:
30.05. | 13.06. | 27.06. | 04.07. | 11.07. | 18.07. | 25.07. | 08.08. | 16.08.* | 22.08. | 29.08. | 05.09. | 19.09. | 03.10. | 24.10. | 31.10.2022

The castle chapel of Hocheppan with its roman frescos is one of the most important roman art monuments in South Tyrol. The centuries old frescos had been painted over and were only entirely laid open in 1926. Besides religious themes, the hunting scene on the exterior wall can be seen as one of the rarest profane depictions in Tyrol dating from this time period. The wall paintings originate from the first decade of the 13th century and show famous illustrations like the foolish virgins, the dumpling eater - the first proof for Tyrolean dumplings - and the picture of 'Maria Heimsuchung' which is well known far beyond the border of South Tyrol.

The St. Oswald Church is situated on 2,365 metres in the hiking and skiing area of Meran 2000.

In 1641, the farmers of Hafling/Avelengo swore to edify Oswald as the patron saint of cattle and grazing, by building a chapel at the foot of the mount Ifinger and processing there on his name-day festival. The old chapel existed for almost 250 years at the original site, until a new building was erected in 1879.

Even today, there is a procession to the chapel every 5th of August, which is St. Oswald’s Day, with an open-air mass and a related church holiday. Many of the devoted from the surrounding area flock up to services at the little mountain church and pray for nice weather and good health for the cattle, for which Oswald serves as patron saint.

The Parish Museum

The parish museum St. Michael was established in 1980 as the first of its kind in the Chapel of St. Michael which had been restored by the Provincial Monuments Office. It was created an exhibition space which was created in order to protect the works of art and to make them accessible to the public.

The exhibition comprises over 20 individual objects or groups of objects, including the winged altar of St. Peter am Bühel (year 1510), the altarpiece of St. Constantine (year 1519) and the former baroque high altarpiece from the parish church (Adoration of the Magi, Year 1742, a masterpiece of the painter Johann Jakob Delai from Bolzano). Furthermore the "Probst Nativity" which was created by the handicapped artist Augustin Alois Probst from Sterzing around 1805 - the so-called Kastengrippe. Worth seeing are the 42 miniature scenes with the entire history of salvation from the birth to the suffering the Passion and the Resurrection up to the Ascension of Christ, among others with more than 240 expressively carved wooden figures.

 

Archaeology Museum:

In the crypt of the St. Michael's Chapel an archeological collection was built, which can be visited during a guided tour. There are findings from the different epochs - from the Neolithic period to the early modern times - are exhibited, such as the crescent-shaped bronze fibula from the 6th/5th century B.C. In addition, there is also a fragment of a Roman gravestone and so much more to discover.

The Gothic church of St. Walburg is located at the top of a former castle hill a little above Kematen - it was consecrated in 1433.
St. Walburg was once a much-visited place of pilgrimage. The pilgrims came and fetched the Walburgis oil, which could cure diseases. Like many other churches and chapels, the chapel was closed during the time of the reform-minded Emperor Josef II.

LEGEND PATH to the St. Walburg church
Route: The path leads from Bad Winkel to Kematen up to the small St. Walburg church. The trail is mostly a forest path. The path can be walked from spring to late autumn. The start is in Bad Winkel: From the parking lot at the chapel next to Gasthof Bad Winkel (getting there either by passing through Kematen or as the case may be, passing by the Sand in Tauferer’s Sports area) we briefly stay on the road to Kematen and soon branch left onto the narrow footpath into the forest (do not take the road to Wiesemann farm!). The path then has some slight ascents and descents. Note: at the road fork you go right heading downhill not left heading uphill! The path ends at a clearing near a bench and at a carved wooden Hubertus Stöckl. Now, you go left onto the wider path heading upwards until you reach the road. Continue up this path for about 300 m. and then after a bridge you reach a wooden gate, where you take the left branching trail nr. 8 leading you to the St. Walburg church (1030 m), where a magnificent view of Taufers and the Zillertal mountains rewards you. You can return on the same path as you came on or you can take the City Bus to Sand in Taufers from Kematen.

The chapel Gruber was rebuilt in 1872 and decorated in 1884 by the painter Rudiferia. The interior is friendly and light. The wooden sculpture in the altar, Christ in misery, was built around 1800.

10 meditational spots are found along the side of the path until you reach the "Franziskus and Klara" chapel, the ruin from the Toblburg Castle.

Pastor Heinrich Videsott was born on July 3, 1912 in Mantana near Brunico and died on December 9, 1999 in La Val. Pastor Videsott particularly stood out for his spiritual charisma, his deep piety and great compassion. He showed an unlimited willingness to help and was an ambassador of the goodness and love of God.

The church in Ahornach/Acereto is a wonderful example of the late gothic style in the Pustertal Valley. The stonecutter Valentin Winkler from Falzes had built the church in 1512.

The Parish Church Assumption of the Virgin Mary is one of the most beautiful late Gothic buildings in South Tyrol. During the Second World War the church was damaged, it was altered according to baroque artistic sensibilities. With the last restoration from 1991 to 1998 the old late Gothic form was brought back to life. In 1488 master Narcissus created the winged altar. The side altars are neo-Gothic superstructures.

The church in Lapago is first-mentioned in 1426.
Already in 1480 it was re-consecrated after reconstruction.
1812-1815 the master-builder Johann Priller from Vandoies has built the new church.

The church was constructed in 1498 in the late Gothic style and represents the second most important pilgrimage location in the South Tyrol after Maria Weißenstein. The picture of grace (a wooden sculpture of a standing Madonna with child) dates back to 1470. Of particular historical and artistic interest are the numerous carved tablets as well as a painting depicting the transfer of the picture of grace into the new chapel. Open all day.

In the village centre the picturesque parish church is witness to a pious past. Its tower is typical of the Roman Age. The foundation of the parish, according to local lore, dates back to Charles the Great. The church is surrounded by modern artwork. In the graveyard, the Vinschgau artist Luis Stefan Stecher immortalised himself a few years ago in 18 paintings, the "Dance of the Dead" frescoes. The illustrations, of great artistic significance, depict the farming traditions and character of the region, and draw our attention to social outcasts and to our eternal accompaniment, Death.

Gais has recently been enriched by a cultural and historical jewel. After years of preparatory work, the old chapel, the so-called “ossuary,” has been transformed into a small museum and opened to the public.

The highlight of the museum is a cycle of late Gothic frescoes featuring a unique depiction of the Last Judgment. Beside it are works illustrating the redemption of poor souls — a kind of catechism for believers who, at the time, were unable to read.

In addition, visitors can admire the priestly vestments from Castelbadia (including several precious chasubles) displayed in a glass case, as well as the complete skeleton of Saint Constantine II preserved in a reliquary.

South-west of Kastelruth, below the Laranzer Forest, lies the hamlet of St Oswald, named after the patron saint of its church. The landmark of the church´s high tower can be seen from a great distance. The church is mentioned for the first time in a historical document from 1234, which was produced on the occasion of an exchange of estates between the Benedictine monastery at Georgenberg and Count Albert III of Tyrol. However, it had probably already been built in the 11th c. One piece of evidence for this is the choice of its patron saint, because the cult of St Oswald of North Umbria spread through Europe before and during the period of the Crusades.

Piazza Gries, with the architectural complex of the Abbey of Benedettini di Muri-Gries on the right handside, is right in the middle of the quarter. The monastery, initially hosting Agostinian monks (1406), was damaged by peasant revolts in 1525 and destroyed during the Napoleonic wars. It was suppressed by the Bavarian government in 1807 and donated by the Austrian Emperor to Benedectine Muri Monks (Switzerland) in 1845. The oldest centre is the castle, built by the Morit-Greifenstein Counts in 1200, and whose original 'mastio' (tower) today is the church's bell tower. It hosts one of the heaviest bells in Alto Adige (5,026 kg).

The Dominican order established itself in Bolzano/Bozen in 1272 and built a church with a single nave inside a vast convent which branches off into different chapels, some of which have been lying in ruins, and a beautiful cloister. A part of the ancient structure houses the Music Academy shich, indidentally, Hosts the prestigious international piano competition Ferruccio Busoni. Also present is the Stadtgalerie, an art gallery which holds different exhibitions and other important cultural Events. The church has gothic archways, as well as baroque elements from the 17th and 18th century (such as the altar piece of Guercino to the left of the Major altar, which was bought by the merchants of Bolzano). The church preserves prestigious examples of paintings from Bolzano from the 14th century which can be found on the oriental side of the coister and on the western wall of the Church, but the real artistic jewel of the building is the Chapel of St. John, the Long and narrow side chapel which holds the cycle of frescoes of those painters who took Giotto es their role model, the so called "School of Giotto". Of particular interest are those scenes from the life of St. Nicholas on the last part of the oriental qall, and the fresco of the "Triumph over death " in the firs part of the same wall, the flight from Egypt on the western wall and the torture of St. Bartholomew on the northern wall. The entire chapel, decorated with individual frescoes of various themes, is a splendid example of 14th century art as practised in the Region. In the nearby coister you can also admire some frescoes by Friedrich Pacher which go back as far as 496.