Churches & Monasteries. In Thaur
Assumption of Mary parish church - Thaur
The parish church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary was first mentioned in a document in 1244. However, the patron saint of the parish church indicates an older age, which was confirmed by archaeological excavations during the restoration of the church in 1986. There is evidence of an early Christian place of worship in the area of today's presbytery as early as the 5th century. In the 7th century, a first Romanesque sacred building was erected on this site, followed by a second Romanesque church around 1200. From 1453 to 1462, the church was extended and Gothicized by the Thuringian masters Friedrich and Hans. From 1766 to 1771, the interior of the church was baroqueized by the master builder Johann Michael Umhauser. The ceiling frescoes by the Thaurer Nazarene painter Franz Xaver Prenlochner II and the decorative paintings by Michael Recheis, which were executed between 1878 and 1880 and are in warm, full-tone colors, are decisive for the historically influenced impression of the room.
Vigil church - Thaur
It is not yet clear whether this is a church dedicated to St. Virgil or St. Vigilius. There is no early documentary evidence, nor have any extensive archaeological excavations been carried out, meaning that its origins cannot be fully clarified.
Today, St. Vigilius of Trento is officially considered the patron saint of the church.
The Vigil Church cannot be visited.
Loretto Church - Thaur
The architecturally unadorned building, now surrounded by traffic, was donated by Archduke Ferdinand II of Tyrol in 1589. The small church was consecrated in 1589 and a chaplaincy was founded just one year later. In 1723, the neighboring present-day guest house was built as a priest's house by the court architect Georg Anton Gumpp. The chapel was given its current altar during renovation work in 1962. The Thaur Chapel is the oldest Loretto chapel in the German-speaking world. The remaining Breccia columns on Haller Strasse, which are decorated with picture niches, are a reminder of the chapel's original function as a regional place of pilgrimage.
The Loretto Chapel in Thaur can only be visited on the 1st Sunday of each month at 09:00 during a church service.
