page_title: Innsbruck Cathedral
section_title: Interior
hierarchical_section_title: Innsbruck Cathedral / Interior
caption_attribution_description: English: Cathedral of St. James in Innsbruck, Austria
context_page_description: Innsbruck Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of St. James, 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 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.
context_section_description: The cathedral interior projects a "severe monumentality" based on a series of heavy pillars that create a repeated triumphal arch motif. The pillars support the saucer domes that are in fact mock vaults consisting of flat wooden ceilings with concave moulding that spans the width of the interior. The segmented walls are divided by the pillars with marble lesenes on all sides. The powerful entablature is highly angulated and turns upwards above the windows creating links between the groups of windows.
  The high dome illuminates the choir and directs the eye toward the high altar, which takes up the entire width of the choir. The cathedral interior creates a "sweeping spacial unity", unlike the Baroque churches constructed in the Tyrol up to that time, which consisted of a tunnel vaulted nave of elongated multi-sectioned rooms with rows of chapels and galleries lining both sides. Herkomer rejected this partitioned design approach, and for the first time in the province, created an expansive interior with a spacial unity directed toward the domed choir and high altar.
  The cathedral interior receives its characteristic appearance from the frescos that decorate the vaulting, with their color fully realized by the abundant natural light from the clear windows. The frescos were painted by Cosmas Damian Asam from Bavaria. Trained in Italy, Asam was the first south German artist to employ the technique of optical illusion to project endless space. The cycle of four frescos he created for the cathedral celebrate the life of Saint James, son of Zebedee, the patron of the church. In the main dome, Saint James is presented as a heavenly general with flag in hand, leading the Spanish Christian army against the Moors. The spandrels show the four evangelists, and the side arches feature angels with the attributes of Saint James. In the transept dome, Saint James is shown pointing to a Marian altar, urging the faithful to venerate the Virgin. In the fresco above the nave, the saint is shown interceding on behalf of suffering humanity. In the dome above the organ, the saint is presented as the intercessor for Innsbruck, the Tyrol, Austria, and the Catholic Church. The small spandrel paintings associated with each fresco show allegorical figures that reference the main frescos.
  The stucco work by the artist's younger brother, Egid Quirin Asam, reflects the visual vocabulary of the Renaissance in both form and color, and supports the dominant presence of the paintings. In concert with the harmony achieved between the frescos and stucco, and between the natural light and color, the design of the floors and walls plays a special  supporting role. Consisting of an imaginative display of geometric patterns, the marble floors of the cathedral—considered among the finest in Austria—were designed by Christoforo and Theodoro Benedetti from the Trentino region. They also designed the nine cathedral altars—all made entirely of multicolored Trentino and Veronese marble—as well as the pilasters in the nave, for which they chose Hague marble. The side galleries above the presbytery, with their gilded Rococo ornamentation, were added during the time of Empress Maria Theresa.
  The cathedral has nine altars: the high altar, six side altars, and two small altars by the chancel arch. The high altar is the showpiece of the cathedral. Donated by Prince Bishop Count Künigl, the high altar is flanked by statues of Saint Ingenuin and Saint Albuin, the patron saints of the diocese of Brixen. The magnificent silver altar is one of the most outstanding examples of late Baroque craftsmanship in Austria. Donated by Elector Charles III Philip of the Palatine in 1712, this highly ornate tabernacle frame was enlarged in 1729 and 1750. On occasion it is adorned with silver busts of the church patrons and two Mannerist silver statuettes, created c. 1600 after a model by Hubert Gerhard.
  The imposing marble structure of the high altar contains the cathedral's most precious treasure, the painting Maria Hilf (Mary of Succor) by Lucas Cranach the Elder from c. 1530. Originally be
caption: High altar
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