Parish Church of Terlano

The villagescape of Terlano (Terlan) is dominated by its Church of the Assumption of Mary, more precisely by the free-standing late Gothic bell tower from the 16th century, the "Leaning Tower of Terlano". Over the centuries, it inclined by several metres and was therefore demolished in 1884 and rebuilt true to original. The church building itself, a high Gothic building from the 14th century, is not very impressive on the outside, but houses a real treasure: the largest fresco cycle in terms of surface area in a Tyrolean country church.

The frescoes in the choir (around 1399) are among the major works of the Bolzano School, local artists who from 1360 onwards created impressive works of art in the tradition of Giotto. Nowhere they are so magnificently preserved as here! The frescoes in the nave, including depictions of the birth of Christ, the Virgin of Mercy and St. Christopher, were created in 1405 by Hans Stockinger. The paintings on the north wall, however, date back to the Renaissance (around 1530). By the way: the oldest part of the church is the small Romanesque side tower from the 13th century.