Name of Monument:

The Servite Monastery Church of St. Charles Borromeo

Also known as:

St. Charles Church

Location:

Volders, Tyrol, Austria

Date:

1620–1654; c. 1760–1766: interior redesign

Artists:

Architect: Hippolytus Guarinonius (1571–1654); stuccowork: Johann Georg Gigl (1710–1765); frescos: Kaspar Waldmann (1657–1720), Martin Knoller (1725–1804)

Denomination / Type of monument:

Ecclesiastical architecture (monastery church)

Patron(s):

Hippolytus Guarinonius (benefactor and master builder)

History:

The church and monastery were designed and donated by the municipal physician of the city of Halle, Hippolytus Guarinonius, on the occasion of the plague year of 1611. The foundation stone was laid in 1620, the consecration was held in 1654 (St. Charles Borromeo and the Holy Trinity). Further chapels were built in 1670 and 1710. The redesign of the interior with Knoller’s ceiling frescos was completed in 1765/66. Last restored in 1977-88.

Description:

The central space of the St. Charles Church is a domed square with a round chapel adjoining to the east, south and north respectively. The design is based on the idea of the unity of the Trinity, which is also repeated in the chancel tower with its trefoil ground plan. To the west a transverse vestibule connects to the two later chapels. While the exterior is in the style of the Early Baroque, the interior is dominated by that of the Late Rococo.

The St. Charles Church in Volders is one of the most interesting buildings of its time and the first Baroque centralised building in north Tyrol. It was built by a dilettante architect who venerated the Holy Trinity, symbolically incorporating it into the building design. While the exterior still displays the exotic looking ornamental forms of the period of its construction, the interior has been redesigned in the style of the late Rococo with monumental ceiling paintings from Martin Knoller.

How Monument was dated:

Archives

Special features

Façade

Exterior, west side

1620–1654 and 1697–1710

Hippolytus Guarinonius (1571–1654)

The entire idiosyncrasy and fancy of the Early Baroque building can be best seen on the façade which appears as if it was pieced together from a construction kit composed of the most bizarre forms. The departure from the classical theory of form shows that the dilettante architect (= enthusiast) was still an adherent of Mannerism, drawing his vocabulary of forms from religious tracts. Little of the often classical austerity of German Early Baroque is in evidence here. The chapels at the sides of the façade were added later in accordance with the existing design.

View from the east

Exterior

1620–1654

Hippolytus Guarinonius (1571–1654)

Although the arrangement of the rest of the building is not as closely crowded as the façade, the walls are still un-classical in their configuration. The superstructure with perimeter pilasters throughout and an attic zone is modelled on St. Peter’s in Rome, as is the building’s basic design with domed tri-conch. The tower, expressing the motif of the Trinity, was originally designed with a spiral-shaped pinnacle.

Ceiling fresco: The Veneration of St. Charles Borromeo

Main cupola, The Servite Monastery Church of St. Charles Borromeo

1765/66

Martin Knoller (1725–1804)

The frescos in Volders are among the most important of Knoller’s works. The apotheosis of the church patron in the main cupola is the high point of the programme, surrounded by scenes from his life. As an important representative of the Counter Reformation his veneration goes hand in hand with the victory of Catholicism. Knoller’s clear composition with monumental figures already contains elements of Classicism.

Chapel of the Sorrowful Mother (Fieger Chapel)

Northern vestibule, The Servite Monastery Church of St. Charles Borromeo

1697/98

Kaspar Waldmann (1657–1720)

Built as an extension to the vestibule, it was donated Johann Karl Graf Fieger. Together with the magnificent column altar, the most significant feature is the ceiling frescos from Kaspar Waldmann, a glorification of Mary with the seven founders of the Servite Order and scenes from the life of Mary.

Selected bibliography:

Frodl-Kraft, E., Tiroler Barockkirchen, Innsbruck 1955, p. 33f.
Bodner, R. M., Die Karlskirche in Volders, Volders 1988.
Petersohn, S., “Die Karlskirche in Volders. Die Herkunft der Bauformen und ihre Bedeutung für den frühbarocken Kirchenbau nördlich der Alpen”, in: Veröffentlichungen des Tiroler Landesmuseums Ferdinandeum, 79, 1999, pp. 33–54.

Citation of this web page:

Frank Purrmann "The Servite Monastery Church of St. Charles Borromeo" in "Discover Baroque Art", Museum With No Frontiers, 2026.
https://baroqueart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;BAR;at;Mon11;20;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 20