The best waterfall hikes and walks around Stams

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

Collegiate Church / Basilica, Stams Abbey The Collegiate Church is the focal point of the entire monastery complex and also of monastic life. Since September 1984, it has been a "basilica minor." High Altar The basilica's most famous sacred work of art is arguably the early Baroque Tree of Life Altar: Created by the Weilheim artist Bartlmä Steindle between 1609 and 1613, it represents the only surviving masterpiece of this altar-tree-of-life concept. 84 wood-carved, largely gilded, figures are grouped within the delicate tendrils of the Tree of Life, which itself measures 19 meters in height. The precious "sap of life" branches out in manifold ways, beginning with the thicker stalks in the root area of the tree, and thus "supports" the church building and, with it, all people. The Mother of Faith, the noblest fruit on the tree, so to speak, is Mary with Jesus, around whom other figures of great significance gather (for example, Peter and John the Baptist on the left, John the Apostle and Paul on the right). In the upper area, we find the Assumption of Mary and, as the pinnacle of Christian faith, the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Monks' Choir The delicate wrought-iron choir screen by Michael Neurauter provides a view of the world-famous early Baroque high altar. The picture on the left of the choir screen depicts Jesus Christ as "salvator mundi," Savior of the World; an eloquent example of Gothic painting by an unknown Flemish master (second half of the 15th century). The impressive choir stalls were designed and executed by Brother Georg Zoller. This is not a museum space; the priests present in the house still meet here four times a day for communal choral prayer, to which "nothing may be preferred" (according to the Rule of St. Benedict). The sixteen-seat choir stalls, with their top figures of Saints Benedict and Bernard, as well as putti holding their attributes, were created around 1730 by the carpenter Georg Zoller from Silz, using parts of the High Baroque stalls built around 1680. Choir Organ In the choir of the abbey church, there is an anonymous choir organ dating from 1757, still playable today, with most of its original pipework. It was built under the music-loving Abbot Rogerius Sailer and is attributed to the Füssen organ builder Andreas Jäger (1704-1773). Text / Source: Stams Abbey Administration, Stiftshof 1, A-6422 Stams https://www.stiftstams.at/?page_id=103

Holy Blood Chapel, Stams Abbey The Holy Blood Chapel dates from 1715–1717. Designed by Georg Anton Gumpp, the existing Oswald Milser Chapel (named after the knight Oswald Milser, who died in Stams) from the early 14th century was replaced by a new building. Noteworthy features include the domed vault from 1716 (paintings by Joseph Schöpf 1800/01); the altarpiece, created by court carpenter Sigmund Zeller from Innsbruck according to plans by Georg Anton Gumpp; the altar figures by the woodcarver Andreas Kölle from Fendels; and the altarpiece by Matthias Pußjäger. The focal point of this chapel is the Holy Blood relic, which came to Stams from France in the 14th century. This is a small glass vessel with dark contents, kept in an elaborate monstrance. Every year on the first Sunday of May, a ceremonial procession with the relic takes place through the entire village. Text / Source: Stams Abbey Administration, Stiftshof 1, A-6422 Stams https://www.stiftstams.at/?page_id=24

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 Francis I. In 1938, the foundation was dissolved again 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 AUSTRIA, Vienna https://www.ordensgemeinschaften.at/portal/ordensgemeinschaften/ordenswiki/address/589.html#:~:text=The Cistercian monastery of Stams was founded in 1272 by Count Meinhard and dates back to the period between 1650 and 1750.

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 Saint John the Baptist. Stams Abbey was founded in 1273, when the founding convent, led by the first abbot, Heinrich von Honstetten, moved into 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/

You walk over private meadow very narrow paths to the waterfall