Stams

STAMS. - Cistercian abbey, in the Inn valley, in the Tyrol, apostolic administration of Innsbruck, formerly diocese of Bressanone.

The monastery of S. was founded in 1273 in memory of Conradin, king of Sicily, by his mother Elizabeth, widow first of Conrad IV, then of Meinhard II of the Tyrol. The first monks came from Kaisheim, a daughter house of Morimond. The abbey enjoyed much favor on the part of the reigning houses, but under Bavarian rule it was suppressed (1806), its goods squandered, its manuscripts, library and archive dispersed. In 1816 the monastery was reopened. There are 5 incorporated parishes.

The complex (parish church, monastery, abbey church, adjoining buildings and garden) forms a very picturesque whole, largely still within the medieval walls. The original church, a basilica with three naves, without transept, with three apses, was dedicated in 1284; remodeled a first time in 1601-15, it was transformed into a grandiose Baroque hall by G. A. Gumpp (1729-32), with the help of many local artists. The high altar, a work of stupendous monumentality in polychromy and gold, was erected in 1609, according to the designs of B. Steinle; it has the form of an immense tree that rises from the altar table up to the vaults; among its branches it includes numerous saints, the Assumption and coronation of the Virgin, and the Most Holy Trinity. Notable is the mausoleum of the Tyrolean princes, built in the form of the Roman "confessions" in dependence on Berninian art by A. Damasch (1679-81); the pulpit is a valuable work by A. Kölle (1740). In the adjoining chapel of the Most Precious Blood is the admired "Rosengitter" by Fra B. Bachnetzer (1716).

The monastery partly preserves its original layout, but has been entirely rebuilt: the convent in 1645-66, the prelature properly so called, the hall of St. Bernard, a grandiose two-story hall, frescoed and stuccoed, and the new prelature, with library, refectory, etc. The royal rooms (1615-18) now serve as a museum. Notable too is the parish church, built around 1050 and rebuilt by Henry, king of Bohemia, in 1313; in 1755 it was completely baroquized, with a rich interior. The abbey maintains a retreat house, schools of agriculture and various institutions for the education of peasants.

Giuseppe Löw