St. Michael (Völs)
St. Michael am Friedhof is a chapel in the cemetery of the parish church Maria Himmelfahrt in Fiè . The building is divided into two floors. Below is the original ossuary , above a cult room, and in the west the building closes with a bell wall.
The chapel was built during the construction of the second parish church, i.e. in the 12th century. The round apse , which protrudes prominently on the east facade, dates from this time , but other structural elements such as the two arched windows were probably only walled up at a later time. The building was damaged in the village fire of 1440, but it was quickly repaired. The old wooden ceiling of the upper floor was replaced by a late Gothic star vault with ribs. In 1724, by order of the church authorities, the crypt was broken open and, after the bones had been removed, it was converted into a chapel for the dead. The walls were painted with baroque motifs: A death shooting arrows, Chronos with an hourglass and scythe, as well as several penances and a large Pietà .
The upper chapel, which served as a storage room and briefly as a theater hall in the 20th century, released some works of art in the course of restoration in 1979. On the east wall one found frescoes from the early 15th century. They represent the Annunciation : Mary sits at a lectern while Gabriel blesses her and God the Father releases the baby Jesus from his arms in her direction. The scene is accompanied by 6 saints, but they are partially covered by the vault that was added later. Today the Völser parish museum is located on the upper floor, the first parish museum in South Tyrol.
On the north facade there is a mural discovered in 1980, the oldest known in Fiè. The 14th century fresco depicts the Adoration of the Magi , a popular motif in the area. From left to right, the scene shows Joseph standing a little apart, Mary with the child, the three wise men, a servant with a horse and an unspecified saint. Although the fresco was painted technically well, it is very poorly preserved.
literature
- Fiè allo Sciliar. A church book . Athesia, Bolzano 1988
- Helmut Stampfer : Church art in Völs am Schlern . Edition Rætia, Bozen 2000, ISBN 88-7283-134-2
Web links
- Entry on St. Michael together with the parish church Maria Himmelfahrt in the monument browser on the website of the South Tyrolean Monuments Office
Coordinates: 46 ° 31 '3.3 " N , 11 ° 30' 10.3" E