Sankt Vitus (Umhausen)

The parish church of Umhausen stands in the village of Umhausen in the Ötztal valley, Tirol. It is a Roman Catholic church dedicated to Saint Vitus and belongs to the Silz deanery in the Diocese of Innsbruck. The building is protected as a listed monument. The church is the oldest in the Ötztal, first recorded in 1220. In 1482 Bishop Georg Golser granted an indulgence for its enlargement, and the tower and nave date from the 14th century. The church was rededicated in 1682 by Auxiliary Bishop Wilhelm Vintler after further expansion. The Johanneskapelle was added in 1771 after a devastating mudslide in 1762. The interior was regothicised in 1880 by Curate Blasius Egger and painted by Johann and Stefan Kärle, though much of that decoration was later overpainted. Inside, the five-bay nave and two-bay choir are covered by ribbed vaults with stucco ribs added in 1933. The north wall of the nave preserves medieval wall paintings uncovered in 1964–65, including a fragment of Saint Christopher. The high altar, installed in 1882 to designs by Josef Ignaz Schmied, shows Saint Vitus flanked by Saints George and Florian beneath a figure of God the Father. The Johanneskapelle contains a Baroque altarpiece and a large fresco cycle by Josef Keil illustrating the life of Saint John of Nepomuk.