Innsbruck Cathedral
| Innsbruck Cathedral | |
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Innsbruck Cathedral façade
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| Basic information | |
| Location | Innsbruck, Austria |
| Geographic coordinates | 47°16′10″N 11°23′39″E / 47.2694°N 11.3942°ECoordinates: 47°16′10″N 11°23′39″E / 47.2694°N 11.3942°E |
| Affiliation | Catholic Church |
| State | Tyrol |
| Year consecrated | 1724 |
| Ecclesiastical or organizational status | Cathedral |
| Status | Active |
| Leadership | Bishop Manfred Scheuer |
| Website | www |
| Architectural description | |
| Architect(s) | Johann Jakob Herkomer |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Architectural style | Baroque |
| Groundbreaking | 12 May 1717 |
| Completed | 1724 |
| Specifications | |
| Direction of façade | West |
| Width (nave) | 17 metres (56 ft) |
| Dome(s) | 1 |
Innsbruck Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of St. James (German: Dom zu St. Jakob), is an eighteenth-century Baroque cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Innsbruck in the city of Innsbruck, Austria, dedicated to the apostle Saint James, son of Zebedee. Based on designs by the architect Johann Jakob Herkomer, the cathedral was built between 1717 and 1724 on the site of a twelfth-century Romanesque church. The interior is enclosed by three domed vaults spanning the nave, and a dome with lantern above the chancel. With its lavish Baroque interior, executed in part by the Asam brothers, St. James is considered among the most important Baroque buildings in the Tyrol.
Innsbruck Cathedral is notable for two important treasures. The painting Maria Hilf (Mary of Succor) by Lucas Cranach the Elder from c. 1530 is displayed above the main altar. It is considered among the most venerated Marian images in Christendom. The cathedral also contains in the north aisle the canopied tomb of Archduke Maximilian III of Austria, Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, dating from 1620. The cathedral was heavily damaged during World War II, but was fully restored within a few years.
The earliest reference to a church at the site of the cathedral dates back to 1180 in a document drawn up between the Counts of Andechs and the Premonstratensian Abbey at Wilton, authorizing the market to be moved from the left to the right bank of the Inn river, signifying the foundation of the old town of Innsbruck. The document specifically mentions an ecclesia in toro in reference to a church. In 1187, the Alte Innbrücke (Old Inn Bridge) was constructed along with the establishment of a market. The name Innsbruck was first used around this time.
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