Façade

Exterior, west side

1751–1756

Franz de Paula Penz (1702–1772), Joseph Stapf [n.d.]

The façade, originally planned with bolder mouldings and greater richness, is only distantly related to that of the Innsbruck parish church (since 1964 St. Jacob’s Cathedral). The architectural idea in Wilten is a different one: While at St. Jacob’s the central section between the towers is set back, here a lightly rounded, projecting broken pediment sets column-like accents. These form the framework for the central section with its shallow concave form. United under a tail gable the central section forms the main motif, while in contrast, at the Innsbruck parish church the central section was clearly subordinated to the pair of towers. The statue of the Mary Immaculata and the portal are the work of Joseph Stapf.

Interior opposite the choir

View from west to east

1751–1756

The effect generated by the interior in the ideal view from the west is determined by the massive pilasters, which form the support for the pristine semi-circular spans of the double transverse and single longitudinal arches. Their arrangement generates, as is usual for pilaster churches, a coulisse-like prospect, however the room is so short due to the sequence of only three elements (two nave bays and choir) that it almost has the appearance of a central-plan building. The high altar with the miraculous picture, which is situated free-standing in the middle of the choir, thus appears, not as a distant goal, but as quasi the centre of the spatial sequence, especially as the grandeur of its ciborium echoes the four-arched structure of the two-nave bays.

High altar

Choir

1751–1756

Franz Karl Fischer (1710–1772); Joseph Stapf [n.d.]

The high altar in the form of a freestanding, four-columned ciborium is the work of Franz Karl Fischer, the son of the master builder Johann Georg Fischer of the Füssen school. The altar, in which in all likelihood the four columns of its predecessor from 1728 have been integrated, was designed by Joseph Stapf. The columns are arranged in a trapezoid form, whereby the two rear columns frame the mensa with tabernacle, and form the rear wall of the structure. Above the tabernacle is a miraculous picture in an aureole, a Gothic Madonna with child. According to records a picture of the Virgin Mary was displayed under four columns in Wilton as early as 1311. The two angel candelabra which flank the altar are works of the late 17th century, presumably from Andreas Faistenberger.

Ceiling paintings Judith and Holofernes and Apocalyptic Madonna

Vault of the west nave bay

1754

Matthäus Günther (1705–1788)

The ceiling frescos in Wilten, which are among the most significant achievements of the Director of the Augsburg Academy, are pictorial worlds executed with virtuosity: heavenly visions open up above grandiose architectural backdrops, which rather than extending the real architecture form part of the visionary event breaking into the space of the church. Like the rhetoric of a Late Baroque preacher, the pictorial content draws a number of references. Here Judith, who presents the head of Holofernes to the people as a symbol of her victory over evil, is interpreted as the precursor of Mary, who at the end of time appears as the “Madonna of the Apocalypse”, the over-comer of all evil. The transcendence of space and time within the picture support this statement.

Stucco cartouche

West nave bay, southeast vault spandrel

1755

Franz Xaver Feichtmayr the elder (1698–1763, attributed) and his brother Johann Michael Feichtmayr (1696–1772, attributed)

The authorship of the excellent stuccowork has not been recorded although, undoubtedly, the master craftsman was a member of the Wessobrunn school. The attribution to Franz Xaver Feichtmayr, possibly with the involvement of his brother Johann Michael, is considered reliable. It is composed of rocaille stucco of the greatest refinement, which in parts has been executed in free sculptural forms and open work. As they ascend, the broad, bold forms in the lower section of the spandrel become increasingly delicate, and against the background of the main fresco dissolve into fragile vegetative tendrils, whose free play of forms also disrupts the symmetry of the cartouche. The rear-view figure in the spandrel fresco is reputedly a self-portrait of Matthäus Günther.