Pfarrkirche hll. Peter und Paul, Silz

The parish church of Silz stands in the Austrian village of Silz in the Tyrol. It is a Roman Catholic church dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul and belongs to the Silz deanery in the Diocese of Innsbruck. The building is protected as a historic monument. The church is worth visiting for its dramatic history and fine art. Construction began in 1846 under master builder Benedikt Perwög after years of dispute. The government finally ordered the work to proceed, ending local opposition. The interior features works by artists such as Franz Hellweger, Josef Miller and Franz Xaver Renn, including paintings and sculptures in the Nazarene style. Inside, visitors enter through a plain porch and find a three-aisled nave topped by two large domes. The raised choir holds a high altar with a painting by Hellweger and statues by Miller and Renn. Side altars show Saint Joseph and Saint Aloisius. The organ dates from the 1880s, and the tower houses the largest bell in the Upper Inn valley, known as the ‘Pummerin of the Upper Inn’.