Perched on the hillside, the Calvary Church is a true Baroque treasure. To preserve it for future generations, around 24,000 curved larch shingles were carefully laid to restore its graceful roof just as it looked in the early 18th century.
The church was built in 1711, together with the Way of the Cross chapels, as a gift from the court clerk Georg Franz von Sumating and his wife Anna Christina. Childless themselves, they wanted the church to serve as both their final resting place and a place of comfort and prayer for the miners and their families. In their 1709 testament, they wrote: “A Calvary shall be built in honor of the suffering Lord, as a plea for our own salvation, as a place of prayer and consolation for the miners and their families.”
From the outside, the church enchants visitors with its elegant Baroque silhouette. Inside, this first impression is more than confirmed: the highlight is the magnificent carved Calvary group, attributed to the renowned sculptor Meinrad Guggenbichler. While some art guides cautiously ascribe it to his circle, his biographer Heinrich Decker considered it one of the master’s own late works.
Step inside, and you’ll discover not just a church, but a place where art, faith, and history meet in harmony.
