Kapelle Mariahilf

The Mariahilf-Kapelle is a small Roman Catholic chapel in the village of Wallhorn, part of the municipality of Prägraten am Großvenediger in East Tirol. It stands at about 1,400 metres above sea level on the edge of a cluster of houses where two mountain roads meet. The chapel dates from the 17th century and is protected as a listed building. Inside the chapel the ceiling rises in a steep barrel vault above a simple wooden gallery at the entrance. The main altar, made of wood with marble facing, was added around 1800 and shows carved acanthus leaves and a medallion with a cross. Above it hangs a painted copy of Lucas Cranach’s Mariahilf image, framed by a round gable decorated with putti and grapes. Side walls hold Stations of the Cross paintings from the same period and a 19th-century shrine said to contain a relic of the Christ-child’s manger. Outside, the chapel’s shingle roof and wooden bell turret with its pyramid cap and cross are clearly visible. Yellow plaster walls are broken by small round-arched windows and a basket-arched door. A pair of bells cast after the Second World War hangs in the turret, ringing out over the surrounding alpine meadows and scattered farmsteads.