Franciscan monastery Villach
The Franciscan Monastery Villach is a monastery of the Franciscans who look after the parish of St. Nikolai in Villach ( Carinthia ).
history
Due to the great shortage of priests, in 1886 Bishop Petrus Funder asked the Tyrolean Franciscan Province to look after the parish of St. Nikolai in Villach through their religious . In the same year the first Franciscans came to the city and moved into the Capuchin monastery , which was closed in 1786 . However, the monastery and the associated church turned out to be so desolate that both had to be demolished and rebuilt over the next few years. Most of the construction costs were borne by the Salzburg diocesan priest Stephan Dionys Cserveny von Zabor. Despite massive resistance from the city authorities, the monastery was rebuilt in 1888 and the demolition of the church began in 1891. The church and the high altar were built according to the plans of the Franciscan Father Johannes Maria Reiter and were inaugurated in 1896.
Since then, the Franciscans have dedicated themselves to looking after the parish of St. Nikolai. The church was badly damaged by a bomb in 1945 and had to be partially renovated after the Second World War . In the second half of the 20th century the church was renovated several times and in 1981 the crypt was adapted for the celebration of church services.
St. Nikolai Church
The St. Nikolai monastery and parish church was built in the neo-Gothic style and is 48.5 m long, 20 m wide and 17 m high in the central nave. The church tower measures 64 m.
Since the church was built under the patronage of the Tyrolean Franciscan Province , several well-known Tyrolean artists contributed to the decor of the church:
- High altar according to the plans of Father Johannes Maria Reiter, made by the cabinet maker Clemens Raffeiner from Schwaz ( Tyrol ).
- Statue of St. Nicholas and relief pictures by the sculptor Josef Bachlechner from Hall in Tirol .
- Frescoes about the childhood of Jesus in the nave by the academic painter Emanuel Walch from Tyrol.
- Stations of the Cross pictures by the sculptor Schmalz from Val Gardena (South Tyrol).
literature
- Franz Scheibl: St. Nikolai 1886–1986 . Villach 1986
Web links
Coordinates: 46 ° 36 ′ 58.5 ″ N , 13 ° 50 ′ 58 ″ E