Description of the attraction
The Church of St. Francis is located in the so-called lower town of the small settlement of Wagrain. It was built in the 17th century.
For a long time in the city of Wagrain, there was only one temple, standing on a steep hillside not far from the now destroyed medieval fortress. However, the poor townspeople did not have access to this church, and during the long winter months the road to the hill was covered with snow, and the ascent could be very dangerous. Therefore, at the beginning of the 17th century, it was decided to build a separate small chapel in the lower part of the city - on the market square at the foot of the hill.
The architect of the building was the Italian Santino Solari, who also designed the cathedral in the city of Salzburg. But in general, the construction of the church would have been impossible without the participation of Marcus Sittikus, the powerful archbishop of Salzburg. By the way, even now a tiara is depicted on one of the outer walls of the temple - the sacred symbol of the archbishop. The construction was completed in 1616.
The church of St. Francis itself is a rather modest Baroque building, with a small bell tower rising above the entrance to it. It is known that the walls of the temple were amazingly painted in 1658, however, unfortunately, all these frescoes were destroyed in a major fire that happened in the market square in 1927. The church itself was also badly damaged, but it was restored.
We also managed to preserve the main altar, made at the beginning of the 17th century by an unknown artist. It depicts Saint Francis receiving stigmata. In 1929, luxurious marble decorations were added to the altar. The miniature side altar is elaborately carved in 18th century wood.
Now the church of St. Francis is used as a memorial chapel. However, sometimes Lutheran services are also held here.
