The history of the sanctuary
Maria Hilf
Already at the beginning of the 17th century there was a little wooden chapel in Hollbruck. With the expansion of the sanctuary this modest chapel was replaced by a wider stone building. The church was consecrated in August 1650.
When this sanctuary turned out to be too small, a new building was added and then consecrated in 1688. The construction of the tower started in 1697, but it was only during the restoration works between 1958 and 1961 that the church was completed with an entrance porch and sacristy.
Outside:
The sanctuary of Maria Hilf is oriented South-West and shows an early Baroque style. It is made of a central nave with a polygonal choir and a sloping roof. The majestic tower at the right side of the choir is characterized by an onion bell tower (1697/99).
The sacristy and the porch were built more recently and added to the sanctuary in 1960.
Inside
The barrel vaults in the nave and the narrow space dedicated to the choir are decorated by 10 frescos on the ceiling. The fresco-secco paintings show scenes of Mary’s life. The altars, the pulpit and the women’s gallery on the right side were made by a Lienz carpenter called Voltener. The main altar, the structure of the columns with pieces of truss and caudated pediments is decorated by a large, rayed crown at the center of which there is an ostensory with a miraculous image.
The 13 cm high terracotta statue shows God’s mother with child. Sometimes a copy of the renowned artwork, a painting by Maria Lukas Cranach is exposed in order to keep the miraculous image hidden. Unknown artists made the statues on the sides representing Saint Anna and St. Joachim. The right altar is a donation by the parish priest Horatius Carara from Innichen. The painting on the altar shows St Joseph on the verge of death. The left side altar shows Francis Xavier and St. Joseph preaching.
Both the statues of the side altars show St. Francis from Assisi on the left and St. Anthony from Padua on the right. The sanctuary organ was made by the Reinisch Hause from Steinach am Brenner (1938).