Katharinenkirche

The Katharinenkirche in Kitzbühel, Tyrol, is a charming Gothic church that features a lower church and a robust bell tower. The ancient cemetery is situated near the parish church of St. Andreas.The tower, which is regarded as the emblem of the city, is home to the Kitzbühel town bell. The Katharinenkirche is also regarded as a pilgrimage church due to the presence of a miraculous figure on its high altar.

The Liebfrauenkirche is believed to have been constructed during the latter half of the 14th century as a High Gothic grave chapel. The first mention of it can be traced back to a document from 1373. At that time, the structure only had a small turret located on its north side.

Between 1566 and 1569, Master Wilhelm Egarter constructed a tower that stands 48 meters tall. This tower was built above the cemetery chapel and was intended to house the parish church’s large bell.This item was purchased in 1518, which was twelve years after the new Gothic parish church was completed. However, the size of this bell was too large for the narrow tower of the parish church, which still retained its Romanesque style.Consequently, the bell remained suspended outside the church on a wooden belfry for several decades.In order to address this temporary solution, the decision was ultimately made to construct a large tower above Our Lady of Lourdes Church.

The construction of the baroque high altar with the miraculous figure took place in 1702 at the upper level of the Katharinenkirche. The Baroque interior was rebuilt from 1738 to 1740 by the master builder Jakob Singer of Schwaz, the plasterer Hans Singer, and the painter Simon Benedikt Faistenberger.

The Katharinenkirche consists of three distinct parts: the upper church, the lower church, and the church tower. The ossuary can be observed in the basement of the church. Upon the tower’s completion, the eastern wall of the tower served as a load-bearing structure, effectively dividing the nave of the upper church into two separate rooms.The vestibule beneath the tower was constructed, along with the church interior that featured a polygonal chancel. The anteroom is adorned with numerous votive plaques that serve as reminders of pilgrimages and answered prayers. The earliest recorded instance of prayer being answered can be traced back to the year 1732.

The interior of the church is characterized by the presence of Georg Faistenberger’s magnificent high altar, which was completed in 1702. The center of attention is the miraculous image, which is a reproduction of Lucas Cranach’s famous Innsbruck Maria Hilf image dating back to approximately 1630. The miraculous image is surrounded by sculptures of St. Joachim and St. Anna, who are Mary’s parents. The artwork depicted above, created by Ignaz Faistenberger, portrays God the Father in human form on Earth.

The magnificent wrought-iron rose trellis in front of the high altar was designed by Franz Witting in 1778.

The church chairs carved in 1720 are adorned with intricate depictions of lions, grimaces, and acanthus tendrils.

Simon Benedikt Faistenberger painted the frescoes in 1739. The vault of the building showcases various depictions, including the Glory of the Mother of God, King David playing the harp above the gallery, St. Andrew serving as the protector of the city, and the depiction of suffering people seeking Mary’s assistance, even in a sun chariot.Hans Singer, the brother of the master builder, was responsible for completing the stucco work.

Only the casing of the positive organ in the gallery from the early Baroque period has been preserved.It was created by Christoph Egedacher in 1664.Since 1907, the item has been stored at the Katharinenkirche.