St. Johann between Church History and Culture

If you are looking for a hotel in St. Johann, you can plan your trip around a specific cultural interest: the history of the ecclesiastical centre, dated religious buildings, frescoes and museums each offer a different focus. There is also the meditation trail from San Giovanni, with its historical origins, route and views of the village. This makes it possible to decide in advance which themes you would like to shape your stay.

Church history across different periods

San Giovanni was already the ecclesiastical centre of the valley around the year 1000. The chapel of Mühlegg (Costa Molini) was built in 1734 and consecrated on 19 August 1743; these dates mark separate milestones, not a single year of construction. The parish church of St John the Baptist in San Giovanni was built between 1783 and 1788. Even within the 18th century, the chapel predates the parish church: its consecration year, 1743, is earlier than the church’s construction start in 1783. The timeline therefore brings together the valley’s early ecclesiastical heritage and two religious buildings from the 18th century. There are 49 years between the chapel’s construction in 1734 and the start of the parish church’s construction in 1783. The chapel was consecrated on 19 August 1743, nine years after it was built and 40 years before construction of the church began. The parish church took five years to build, from 1783 to 1788; all three dates therefore fall within the 18th century.

Frescoes and museums

The frescoes in the cemetery arcades of St. Johann are by Johann Baptist Oberkofler. The Oberkofler Museum is located right in the village centre of San Giovanni. The Kirchler Mineralogical Museum covers a distinctly different subject, displaying 1,000 mineral specimens in an exhibition space of 300 m².

A trail with a historical origin

The San Giovanni meditation trail was created to mark the 200th anniversary of the Tyrolean Sacred Heart vow, from 1796 to 1996. The route leads from the church of San Giovanni to the festival hall, passes through forests and meadows, and offers views of the village of San Giovanni. In San Giovanni, bus line 450 and the Steinpent or Kirche stops provide access to the meditation trail. Check the timetable before your trip.

Regional cheese culture

You can also broaden your culinary perspective beyond St. Johann to take in the region. Ahrntal grey cheese belongs to the sour-milk cheese family and is made by sour-milk coagulation without the addition of rennet.

A focus for your hotel search

Answering this question first can help you focus your hotel search on the purpose of your stay.

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