Pfarrkirche hl. Jakobus der Ältere (Bludesch)

The parish church of Bludesch stands in the village of Bludesch in the Walgau valley of Vorarlberg. It is dedicated to St James the Elder and belongs to the Walgau-Walsertal deanery in the diocese of Feldkirch. The church and its cemetery are listed monuments. The present building replaced a medieval church in 1650–51, when Michael Beer designed a Baroque structure with a crypt beneath the chancel. The interior was restored in 1968–69 and the exterior in 1961. The church’s history goes back to 842, when it was first recorded as a chapel in villa Pludassis. Inside, the nave has three bays with barrel vaulting on sturdy piers, while the chancel has two bays and a round-arched opening. The west gallery carries paintings of the apostles between pilasters. The high altar of 1651 is framed by six marble columns and crowned with a pediment and volutes. The organ, built in 1803–04 by Joseph Bergöntzle, is noted for its French voicing and mechanical action.