St. Peter Church in Ora

Ora (Auer) features two churches: The Parish Church of Our Lady of the Rosary is located in the historical village centre. The one dedicated to Saint Peter, however, can be found at the southern village entrance along the state road. It represents the former parish church of the municipality. Originally, the church sat enthroned on a hill, but the frequently floodings of the Adige river ablated and destroyed the hill: Nowadays, the church lies 5 meters lower than the surrounding ground.

Those floodings led to the construction of a new parish church in 1674. However, the Gothic St. Peter Church from the 15th century with its Romanesque steeple from the 12th century is still worth a visit: It houses the oldest still playable organ of South Tyrol, the so-called Schwarzenbach Organ from 1599 and a big fresco depicting St. Christopher on the outer façade, which was painted by crusaders, as it is said. By the way: It is said that today, exactly as many steps lead down to the St. Peter's Church as once led up the hill.