Bressanone Cathedral & Diocesan Museum Hofburg

Bressanone | historic centre

The Bressanone Cathedral, a Baroque masterpiece. Today, Brixen Cathedral presents itself as a large Baroque celebratory space. Of the original three-nave basilica, 18th-century master builders preserved only the outer walls of the old Romanesque cathedral and the Gothic choir, and renovated the cathedral in the style of the great Baroque churches of Rome. The lower part, whose design elements are all in stone and coloured marble, was intended to represent the earthly vestibule of paradise, while the ceiling frescoes offer a view of heaven The ceiling frescoes are the main work of Paul Troger. He painted with several assistants for three consecutive summers in order to complete all parts. The large ceiling fresco is inspired by the last book of the Bible, the Apocalypse of St. John, according to which all the redeemed walk towards the adoration of Christ, the paschal lamb. The diocesan saints occupy a prominent place in the fresco, so much so that one can justifiably say that the paradise of Brissago is depicted here.

The inner courtyard of the bishop's palace is certainly one of the most atmospheric courtyards of the South Tyrolean residences. In 70 rooms, the diocesan museum houses precious evidence of medieval plastic and painting, continuing through the Baroque, Classicism and Romantic phases, the Brixen Cathedral Treasury, the Emperor's Wing with its tiled stoves, historical furniture and Viennese porcelain, the Bishop's Wing and the Court Church. On the ground floor, one can admire the liturgical crib, which contains a total of about 5000 figurines and was created for Prince-Bishop Karl Franz Lodron for a room in his flat in the bishop's palace. Other cribs from Brixen, Tyrol, Naples and Sicily enrich the crib collection.