Description of the attraction
The parish church of St. Anton am Arlberg was consecrated in 1698 in honor of the Holy Virgin Mary, St. Francis and St. Anthony of Padua. The church has been under construction for 8 years. In the Arlberg parish there were also older churches, for example, the Church of St. James built in 1275. Residents of St. Anton have long sought the right to build their own church. They received it only at the end of the 17th century.
The main architectural decoration of the Church of St. Anthony is a tower with an onion dome. The interior of the church in those days was decorated rather modestly. We can say that the decoration of this temple was suspended, as all funds were spent on the purchase of furniture and church utensils for the new building of the Church of St. James, completed in 1773.
In 1840, the church of St. Anthony was renovated. At the same time, two large paintings by the Munich artist Johann Kasper appeared here. In the years 1880-1884, four bells were installed in the temple.
At the beginning of the 20th century, it became clear that the church could no longer accommodate all believers. Therefore, it was decided to reconstruct the existing church of St. Anthony. The Baroque temple was partially rebuilt and extended in 1932 by the architect Clemens Holzmeister. The transformation of the church, as a result of which a second, lower tower was added and a choir, lasted six months. After the repairs, the temple was consecrated again. Basically, the old decor remained in the church. But in 1951 the painter Hans André from Innsbruck painted the ceiling, and in 1956 Hans Buschgeschwenter renovated the main altar.
