Innsbruck Cathedral
Dom zu St. Jakob · Cathedral of St. James · Innsbrucker Dom
About
The cathedral stands at the heart of the Tyrolean capital, an eighteenth-century Baroque sanctuary raised on the site of a twelfth-century Romanesque parish church. Designed by Johann Jakob Herkomer, it was built between 1717 and 1724 and is widely regarded as one of the most important Baroque buildings in the Tyrol.
Three domed vaults span the nave and a fourth dome with lantern rises above the chancel. The interior is among the great expressions of southern German Baroque, with ceiling frescoes by Cosmas Damian Asam depicting scenes from the life of Saint James and stucco decoration by his brother Egid Quirin Asam.
The cathedral guards two treasures dear to the devotion of the Tyrol. Above the high altar hangs the Maria Hilf, the Mother of Succour, painted by Lucas Cranach the Elder around 1530 and venerated as one of the most beloved Marian icons in central Europe. In the north aisle stands the canopied 1620 tomb of Archduke Maximilian III of Austria, who served as Grand Master of the Teutonic Order.
The building was heavily damaged in the Second World War but was fully restored within a few years, and continues to serve as the cathedral church of Innsbruck, the spiritual centre of a diocese erected in 1968.
History
A church on this ground is first recorded in 1180, rebuilt and repaired across the medieval centuries after repeated fire and earthquake damage. When the old church was again found too fragile for the earthquake-prone Inn valley, the citizens of Innsbruck commissioned the architect Johann Jakob Herkomer to raise a new Baroque cathedral; the foundation stone was laid in 1717, and Prince-Bishop Kaspar Ignaz Count Kunigl dedicated the completed church on 9 September 1724. The Second World War brought heavy damage to the building in December 1944, and after restoration it was elevated to cathedral status for the newly erected Diocese of Innsbruck in 1964.
Significance
Above the high altar hangs the Maria Hilf, painted by Lucas Cranach the Elder around 1530 and given to the church in 1650, a Marian image so beloved across Central Europe that copies of it hang in churches throughout Bavaria and Austria. The north transept holds the canopied bronze tomb of Archduke Maximilian III of Austria, Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, cast in 1618. Its ceiling frescoes by Cosmas Damian Asam, telling the life of Saint James, are counted among the finest achievements of South German Baroque painting.
Architecture
Tyrolean and South German Baroque
Visiting
Daily worship
| Sunday and public holiday Mass | 10:00 to | |
| Sunday and public holiday Mass (second) | 11:30 to | |
| Weekday Rosary | 08:55 to | |
| Weekday Mass | 09:30 to |
Hours
Hours not listed.
Contact
Engage with Innsbruck Cathedral
Through the four pathways
Seva सेवा — Service
Offer your time and skills here. The following opportunities are open at Innsbruck Cathedral:
No Seva offerings listed yet.
Sādhana साधना — Practice
Learn the worship and practice associated with Innsbruck Cathedral:
No Sādhana offerings listed yet.
Sandhāna सन्धान — Wisdom
Unite with the wisdom of this tradition:
No Sandhāna offerings listed yet.
Sādhya साध्य — Giving
Support this sacred place according to your means:
No Sādhya offerings listed yet.
All giving flows directly to Innsbruck Cathedral. Adisthan does not take a commission.
Festivals & Events
- Jul
Patrozinium (Feast of Saint James)
26 July 2026 · annual
The cathedral's patronal feast day, marking Saint James the Great, celebrated with a special liturgy and the DomKlang summer evening concert.
- Dec
Christmette (Christmas Eve Midnight Mass)
24 December 2026 · annual
The cathedral's Christmas Eve midnight Mass, sung by the Cathedral choir and orchestra, preceded from 11:00 pm by carol singing.
Gallery
Related sacred places
ChristianityAlbenga Cathedral
Albenga · Italy · church
The medieval cathedral of Albenga on Liguria's western coast, dedicated to Saint Michael the Archangel, its banded brick campanile rising over a nave first raised around 1100 on the foundations of a church from the turn of the fifth century.
ChristianityAlexander Nevsky Cathedral
Sofia · Bulgaria · church
Sofia's golden-domed patriarchal cathedral, raised by the whole Bulgarian people as a memorial to the Russian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Moldavian, Finnish and Romanian soldiers who died in the 1877-1878 war that ended five centuries of Ottoman rule.
ChristianityAltamura Cathedral
Altamura · Italy · church
A thirteenth-century 'palatine' cathedral in the Apulian hill town of Altamura, raised at the order of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II and dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, its twin Gothic bell towers and carved rose window rising over the old town's main square.
ChristianityBasilica of Our Lady of Good Health
Velankanni · India · church
White Gothic Marian basilica on the Coromandel shore where Our Lady is held to have appeared to two Tamil boys in the 16th century. Called the Lourdes of the East, it draws millions of pilgrims, most of them Hindu and Muslim, to Annai Velankanni, the Mother of Good Health.
ChristianityBasilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Mexico City · Mexico · church
The most visited Marian shrine in the world, built at the foot of Tepeyac hill where Our Lady appeared to St. Juan Diego in 1531; his tilma bearing her image hangs above the altar of the circular basilica of 1976.
ChristianityBolnisi Sioni
· Georgia · church
A late-fifth-century Georgian Orthodox basilica in Bolnisi, the oldest surviving church building in Georgia, famed for its early Georgian-script inscriptions.