Bachkapelle St. Florian

The Bachkapelle St. Florian is a protected chapel in Matrei in East Tyrol. It stands beside the Bretterwandbach stream on the northern edge of the village. A small green space with a wooden fence surrounds the building, which was put up in 1611. The chapel was built as a votive offering against storms, fire and floods. After extensions around 1700 and a new roof in 1799, it was restored and rededicated in 1982. A damaged fresco on the front wall was uncovered and repaired in the 1980s. The entrance faces the valley through a round-arched doorway framed by iron grilles and topped by a large fresco of the Virgin sheltering the founder and the local district. Inside, a flat barrel vault with stucco work covers the nave. A baroque altar from the late 17th century holds a Pietà flanked by statues of Saint George and Saint Florian. Wooden choir stalls, pews, a 19th-century Stations of the Cross and a gilded processional cross stand beside the altar. The space is lit by rectangular windows and the quiet flow of the stream outside.