Name of Monument:

Catholic Parish Church of St. Peter and St. Paul

Location:

Götzens, Tyrol, Austria

Date:

1772–1775; consecration: 1780; dated on tower (onion dome) 1775

Artists:

Architecture and design of the stucco decoration: Franz Singer (1724–1789); altars: Johann Schnegg (1724–1784); frescoes: Matthäus Günther (1705–1788); main altar: Franz Anton Maulpertsch (1724–1796, workshop)

Denomination / Type of monument:

Ecclesiastical architecture (parish church)

Patron(s):

Parish of Axams, diocese of Brixen

History:

In the 18th century, efforts were made to establish independence from the Parish of Axams, and in 1736, a parish priest was appointed. In 1772 a new parish church was erected in the centre of the town according to plans from the “countryman, master mason and stucco mason” Franz Singer. The consecration, conducted by the Prince-Bishop of Brixen, Joseph Graf Spaur, took place on 24 June 24 1780. In 1786 Götzens became an independent parish.

Description:

The south-facing building is composed of a sequence of three centralised spatial units, commencing with an ante-bay with choir loft. The sequence, with shallow dome vaulting, becomes progressively narrower as it extends to the choir, whereby rounded projecting pilasters establish a smooth transition between the sections. Thus the overall view is one of a magnificent graduated prospect, within which it is the sequence of five altars that take pride of place. The frescos, framed by delicate rocaille stucco, are a late work of the Director of the Augsburg Academy, Matthäus Günther, executed in especially clear, luminous colours.

Götzens is the high point of Tyrol’s late Rococo-period parish churches. The building and its interior work were largely executed according to the design of the master builder Franz Singer and were completed in a short space of time, “all of a piece” so to speak. The coulisse-like “theatre prospect” combines architecture, stucco, altars, and the excellent frescos of Matthäus Günther into a harmonious whole.

How Monument was dated:

Through archives and the inscription on the spire “FS 1775 PM” (meaning: Franz Singer and Peter Mayr, the carpenter)

Special features

Façade and tower

Exterior, north elevation

1772–1775

Franz Singer (1724–1789); Johann Schnegg (1724–1784); Matthäus Günther (1705–1788)

Together with the west tower, the façade forms a delightful ensemble, a simplified version of the double-tower façade of Wilten parish church (since 1964 St. Jacob’s Cathedral). The few sculptural architectural elements – mouldings, tail gable and portal aedicule – are supplemented by painting and sculpture. The gable panel features an Ecclesia triumphans, painted by Günther, together with the church patrons in the niches of the façade wall from Schnegg (the triumphant Catholic Church, founded by Peter and Paul).

Ceiling painting: Competition of the Magician Simon with Peter and Paul

North domical vault

1775

Matthäus Günther (1705–1788)

Victory over evil and unbelief, which frequently commences the programme of pictures, is here drawn from the story of the two church patrons: The apostles demonstrate the truth of the Christian faith in front of the entire people, evil in the form of the magician is destroyed. In a spatial image made up of a range of perspectives, different levels are combined with virtuosity to form an overall impression: Late Baroque pictorial rhetoric employing clear colours and audacious composition.

High altar

Choir

c. 1775–1776

Johann Schnegg (1724–1784); Franz Anton Maulpertsch (1724–1796)

The high altar, designed by Schnegg, with its prospect of dark-red marbled pillars, forms the focal point of the enfilade. The altar painting of the highest quality is probably the work of Maulpertsch who painted the Riesensaal in Innsbruck at about this time. The brilliantly polished white sculptures, which stand out from the church’s brightly coloured interior, depict, amongst others, the patrons of the diocese of Brixen. The monumental, but nonetheless elegant figures are of striking quality.

Pulpit

East side of the nave, central pillar

1775

Franz Singer (1724–1789)

The pulpit, with its wooden core freely ornamented with stucco is one of the most remarkable Rococo pulpits in the entire south German-speaking region. An exemplary feature is the towering baldachin with its rocaille work ascending freely like waves, a masterpiece of the stucco mason’s art. The rocaille work of the baldachin contains symbols of the sermon – Tablets of the Law, flaming sword and the holy spirit in the form of a dove – while the pulpit itself has a purely ornamental design.

Selected bibliography:

Frodl-Kraft, E., Tiroler Barockkirchen, Innsbruck 1955, p. 44f.
Schaelow, K., Götzens. Pfarrkirche St. Petrus und Paulus, Passau 1994 (= Peda-Kunstführer No. 74).
Matthäus Günther 1705-1788, gedächtnisausstellung zum 200, Todestag 1988 (Commemorative exhibition on the 200th anniversary of his death). Munich 1988, p. 355f.
Amann, K., Franz Singer (1724–1789) von Götzens, Baumeister, Maurermeister, Stukkator. Diss. Innsbruck 2002.
Bayer, K., Franz Singer. Innsbruck 2005, pp. 52–60.

Citation of this web page:

Frank Purrmann "Catholic Parish Church of St. Peter and St. Paul" in "Discover Baroque Art", Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. https://baroqueart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;BAR;at;Mon11;10;en

Prepared by: Frank Purrmann
Translation by: Colin Shepherd
Translation copyedited by: Mandi GomezMandi Gomez

Amanda Gomez is a freelance copy-editor and proofreader working in London. She studied Art History and Literature at Essex University (1986–89) and received her MA (Area Studies Africa: Art, Literature, African Thought) from SOAS in 1990. She worked as an editorial assistant for the independent publisher Bellew Publishing (1991–94) and studied at Bookhouse and the London College of Printing on day release. She was publications officer at the Museum of London until 2000 and then took a role at Art Books International, where she worked on projects for independent publishers and arts institutions that included MWNF’s English-language editions of the books series Islamic Art in the Mediterranean. She was part of the editorial team for further MWNF iterations: Discover Islamic Art in the Mediterranean Virtual Museum and the illustrated volume Discover Islamic Art in the Mediterranean.

True to its ethos of connecting people through the arts, MWNF has provided Amanda with valuable opportunities for discovery and learning, increased her editorial experience, and connected her with publishers and institutions all over the world. More recently, the projects she has worked on include MWNF’s Sharing History Virtual Museum and Exhibition series, Vitra Design Museum’s Victor Papanek and Objects of Desire, and Haus der Kulturen der Welt’s online publication 2 or 3 Tigers and its volume Race, Nation, Class.

MWNF Working Number: AT 10