Servitenkirche, Innsbruck

The Servitenkirche to St Josef stands beside Maria-Theresien-Straße in the heart of Innsbruck. A plain rectangular nave runs parallel to the street, ending in a recessed choir. A single-storey chapel juts forward on the south side, topped by a modest baroque tower. The church owes its early years to Anna Caterina Gonzaga, widow of Archduke Ferdinand II, who founded the convent in 1614. The first building burned in 1620, yet by 1626 the church was rededicated and its high altar commissioned from Matthias Carneri, a sculptor and stucco artist from Trent. Later enlargements added the side chapel in 1722 and the Peregrini chapel in 1731, while the tower received its present crown in 1899 through Johann Wunibald Deininger. Inside, the ceiling is a continuous barrel vault on slender stucco-marble pilasters. Hans Andre painted the ceiling fresco and the external Gnadenstuhl fresco in 1947 and 1953 respectively. The Walcker organ, installed in 1976, completes the interior. Outside, the simple façade and the modest tower give little hint of the rich history preserved within.