Assumption of Our Lady Cathedral

The impressive Assumption of Our Lady Cathedral - "Dom Maria Himmelfahrt" in German, "Duomo Maria Assunta" in Italian - is located directly next to the Piazza Walther square. Here were already an early Christian basilica and a Romanesque church situated, before between the 13th and 14th century the today's Gothic cathedral was built of reddish (Gardena) and yellow (Bassa Atesina) sandstone. Today it serves as the parish church of Bolzano and the cathedral of the Bolzano-Bressanone diocese, where church services and high masses are held regularly.

Since 1964, the Bishop has also been residing in Bolzano, but the Cathedral of Bressanone remains the episcopal church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bolzano-Bressanone. The 65 metres high beautiful church tower with its open-work spire in the district of Centro-Piani is visible from afar. Lombard and Swabian skilled workers built it between 1501 and 1519. Its gargoyles and balustrades are reminiscent of Notre Dame in Paris. The pulpit inside, also made of sandstone, dates from the same period, but was badly damaged by bombing raids in WWII. While the frescoes, the colour windows and the altarpiece were lost, the late Gothic pulpit was rebuilt. Particularly worth seeing are the Crucifixion Fresco on the tower wall with Mary, John and St. Barbara, the Madonna named "Plapper-Muttergottes" and the Baroque Chapel of Grace inside.

The portals are also ornately elaborated, including the Romanesque Lion Portal and the Porticina del Vino, or Leitacher Törl portal, facing the Piazza Walther square, which is considered one of the most beautiful high-Gothic portals in all of Tyrol. Right next to it, in the old priory of the cathedral, the Bolzano Cathedral Treasury can be seen. And how to reach the Bolzano Cathedral? There is a parking garage under the square, near the Arcades of Bolzano, furthermore it can easily be reached by public means of transport. In Advent, on the Walther Square in front of the Assumption of Our Lady Cathedral, the famous Bolzano Christmas Market takes place.