Sacrament Guards. Partisan League Hall, Thaur and Volders

The Tyrolean Sacrament Guards were founded around 500 years ago based on the Spanish model of the Corpus Christi brotherhoods. Their original activity of protecting and escorting the Blessed Sacrament during processions remains unchanged to this day.

There are only four partisan guards left in Tyrol. In Hall, Thaur and Volders, the tradition of having their own guard of honor for church processions has been practiced for centuries. In 2013, the "Partisan Guard of Hall in Tirol", the "Partisan Guard of Thaur" and the "Partisan Guard of Volders" were registered together with the "Salva Guardia of Schwaz" as "Tyrolean Sacramental Guards" in the UNESCO Austria Intangible Cultural Heritage List.

The first documented mention of a sacramental escort in the town of Hall in Tirol dates back to 1326. From 1435 onwards, the "Brotherhood of Our Lady" accompanied the priest during sacraments. In the course of the revival of the Catholic faith in Hall in 1578, Archduchess Magdalena, the founder of the Hall convent, decreed that a guard of honor in Spanish court costume should accompany the processions of the Marian Congregation. As this guard carried the usual partisan weapons of the time, they were called the "Partisan Guard". In Thaur, too, a "partisan guard" has been used in processions since 1660 and is still in use today. In Volders, the tradition of a sacramental escort has only been secured since 1854. Its special feature is that only the captain wears a partisan. The guardsmen, on the other hand, wear valuable imperial helmets from 1558 and 1564.

Living tradition: all three Sacrament Guards appear at church processions in their own parish as honorary protectors of the Blessed Sacrament. A common highlight of the Tyrolean Sacrament Guards was certainly the escort for Pope John Paul II during his visit to Innsbruck in 1988.

The Partisan Guard is an independent section of the Marian Congregation of the Lords and Citizens of Hall in Tyrol and the surrounding area.

The Jesuit Church is the congregation church of the Marian Congregation, which was separated in 1606 from the Marian Congregation of the Students of the Jesuit Grammar School in Hall, founded in 1578, as a branch of the adult men.

With its MK crib (Marian Congregation) from 1609, Hall has the second oldest baroque church crib in Tyrol. And the only listed nativity scene in the country (!). The 19-figure nativity scene in the Franz Xaveri Chapel in the Jesuit Church is set up annually by the Marian Congregation and is part of the Advent, Nativity and Rauhnacht tours organized by the tourist office.