The best family-friendly hikes and walks around Stams

The bridge is currently closed.

The bridge is currently closed.

The bridge is closed indefinitely due to defects.

Unfortunately, the bridge is closed indefinitely. 😕

Picture taken, 15.10.25

The History of Stams Abbey The first documented mention of "Stambs" dates back to 1065, when a document describes a fiefdom of the noble family of Wangen in the central Inn Valley, with a settlement and a much-visited pilgrimage church dedicated to St. John the Baptist. Stams Abbey was founded in 1273, when the founding convent, led by the first abbot, Heinrich von Honstetten, arrived in Stams. Count Meinhard II of Gorizia-Tyrol had intended to establish a monastery here some time before, which would henceforth serve as the burial place of the Counts of Gorizia-Tyrol. The popular legend surrounding the founding of the monastery is now considered historically refuted, but it clearly demonstrates the connections of the Counts of Tyrol and their class consciousness: It states that the founding of the monastery was due to the gruesome death of the last Hohenstaufen, Conradin (beheaded in Naples in 1268). Conradin's mother, Elisabeth of Wittelsbach (d. 1273, her first marriage to the Hohenstaufen King Conrad IV), is said to have asked her husband, Count Meinhard II, to establish a memorial for her unfortunate son ("Mors Conradini – Vita Stamsii"). The mother monastery, the Cistercian monastery of Kaisheim (north of Donauwörth in Bavaria), was closed at the beginning of the 19th century as part of the secularization process. Text / Source: Association of Tyrolean Rifle Companies, Brixner Straße 1 / 6th floor, A-6020 Innsbruck https://www.tiroler-schuetzen.at/tirol_lexikon/stift-stams/

History of the Cistercian Monastery of Stams The Cistercian Monastery of Stams was founded in 1272 by Count Meinhard II of Gorizia-Tyrol as a burial place for the Tyrolean princes in memory of the last Hohenstaufen dynasty, Conradin, and settled a year later. The monastery's Baroque and Rococo furnishings date from between 1650 and 1750. A monastery school has been documented since the 17th century. The monastery was dissolved in 1807 and re-established in 1816 under Emperor Franz I. In 1938, the foundation was again dissolved by the Nazi regime. A new beginning was made in 1945. Monks from the Cistercian monastery of Stična (Parakeet) in Slovenia made a significant contribution to the abbey's revival. Text / Source: MEDIA OFFICE OF THE RELIGIOUS ORDER ORDERS OF AUSTRIA, Vienna https://www.ordensgemeinschaften.at/portal/ordensgemeinschaften/ordenswiki/address/589.html#:~:text=The%20Cistercian%20Monastery%20of%20Stams%20was%20founded%20in%201272%20by%20Count%20Meinhard

Parish Church of St. John the Baptist, Stams Step into our parish church of St. John the Baptist. The church's current appearance dates back to the 18th century. Abbot Rogerius Sailer had the church remodeled in the Baroque style from 1754 to 1759. The ceiling paintings are by Franz Anton Zeiller (+1794) from Reutte, which he completed in 1755. The altars are by Johann Reindl (+1792), on which he worked from 1756 to 1759. History of the Church The First Church (around 700) The oldest church in Stams was a post-and-beam structure. Ten post holes of this church are still preserved. The strangeness of the original building, purely Bavarian in both technology and floor plan, is particularly striking. It is explained by its proximity to Pfaffenhofen and the Telfer Basin, where Bavarians who had migrated via Leutasch or Seefeld had settled around the year 600. The church was probably built as a private church by a local landowner. The Second Church (8th century) This church was built of stone, and its nave was approximately eight meters long and six meters wide. With its unequal, irregularly spaced sides, without mortar, it fits well with other early medieval buildings in Tyrol. The Third Church (11th century) This new building is likely related to the rise of pilgrimages to St. John the Baptist. The monks found this church upon their arrival in Stams on March 12, 1273, and it served as their first monastic church. The Gothic Church (1313-1316) The new church is considered the first example of mature Gothic architecture in Tyrol. It dates back to a donation by the founder's youngest son, Meinhard, King Henry of Bohemia, and his first wife, Anne. The church's masonry is still completely intact. The tower also likely dates from that period. Later repairs can be explained by the fire of 1593. After the fire, for example, the Gothic floor was removed. Text / Source: Diocese of Innsbruck https://www.dibk.at/Media/Pfarren/stams-dekanat-silz/Pfarrkirche