Churches & monasteries. In Absam
Basilica of St. Mary - Absam
The pilgrimage church in Absam was elevated to basilica status on June 24, 2000, making it the first pilgrimage church in Tyrol to receive this status without being connected to a monastery or convent.
Absam is the most important Marian pilgrimage site in Tyrol. The apparition of the Virgin Mary is commemorated on the 17th of each month. The major Marian feast days are January 17th (day of the apparition) and June 24th (on the day of St. John - 2nd patron saint of the church - Absam celebrates the transfer of the miraculous image to the parish church). As a result of answered prayers, those affected thanked the Mother of Grace with numerous votive tablets in the adjoining votive chapel.
St. Magdalena - Halltal - Absam
Around 1440, St. Magdalena was a small monastery inhabited by a few "forest brothers". It was founded by the Hall salt master Hans Frankfurter, who wanted to spend the last years of his life in prayer and solitude with a few pious men. Later, two nuns took over the hermitage and the flock of sisters soon grew to 24 members. A wealthy widow from Hall - Magdalena Götzner - joined the convent. She had the convent extended and a new church built, which was dedicated to St. Magdalene. Magdalena Götzner left the convent in 1499 and built a new convent next to St. Martin's Church in Gnadenwald.
In 1522, all the nuns left St. Magdalena and moved to St. Martin near Schwaz. From then on, only a chaplain lived there to provide pastoral care for the miners. The abandoned monastery was partially destroyed by an earthquake in 1670 and completely destroyed by another quake in 1689. The little church was repaired in 1690.
After two centuries, the church had fallen into such disrepair that in 1923 the beautiful Gothic winged altar was transferred to the war memorial chapel (formerly Magdalenenkapelle) next to Hall parish church and the church was secularized.
Exactly 500 years after its first consecration, in 1946, it was restored and re-consecrated.
Today, St. Magdalena is a popular destination for excursions.
