St. Anne's Column (german: Annasäule) stands in the city centre of Innsbruck on '' Maria-Theresien-Straße''. It was given its name when, in 1703, the last

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

n troops were driven from the

Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...

on St. Anne's Day (26 July), as part of the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...

. In 1704, in gratitude, the ''

Landstände The ''Landstände'' (singular ''Landstand'') or ''Landtage'' (singular ''Landtag'') were the various territorial estates or diets in the Holy Roman Empire in the Middle Ages and the early modern period, as opposed to their respective territoria ...

'' vowed to build a monument commemorating the event. The column was made by Trient sculptor, Cristoforo Benedetti, from red

Kramsach Kramsach is a municipality in the Kufstein district in the Austrian state of Tyrol located 27 km southwest of Kufstein and 16.5 km west of Wörgl, at the northern side of the Inn River. Its main sources of income are the marble, timber a ...

marble. On the base are four statues of saints: * in the north, Saint Anne, the mother of the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...

* in the west, Cassian, patron saint of the Diocese of Bozen-Brixen. * in the east, Vigilius, patron saint of the Diocese of Trient. * in the south,

Saint George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldie ...

, patron saint of the Tyrol. Towering above these four statues is the column with its statue of Mary as the

Woman of the Apocalypse The Woman of the Apocalypse (or the woman clothed with the sun, el, γυνὴ περιβεβλημένη τὸν ἥλιον; Latin: ) is a figure, traditionally believed to be the Virgin Mary, described in Chapter 12 of the Book of Revelati ...

, raising 42 meters (137 feet) from the street. The column was consecrated on 26 July 1706 by Prince-Bishop Kaspar Ignaz, Count of Künigl. It has been restored several times over the centuries. In 1958, mainly for conservation reasons, the figure of Mary was replaced by a replica and the original was loaned to the Abbey of St. Georgenberg-Fiecht, where it has been placed in a side chapel of the abbey church of Fiecht (near

Schwaz Schwaz () is a city in the Austrian state of Tyrol. It is the administrative center of the Schwaz district. Schwaz is located in the lower Inn valley. Location Schwaz lies in the middle of the Lower Inn Valley at the foot of the Kellerjoch a ...

) above Saint Mary's altar. On 10 October 2009 the figures of saints on the base of the monument were also substituted; the originals are now on the first floor of the Altes Landhaus in Innsbruck. File:Innsbruck Annasäule detail St. Anne.jpg, St. Anna File:2014-05-31 Innsbruck, Annasäule 1156.jpg, Statue of Mary,
since 1958 File:Fiecht Kirche Madonnenstatue (Cristoforo Benedetti 1706).jpg, Original statue of Mary by Benedetti, 1706 file:2697 - Innsbruck - Annasäule.JPG, St. Anne's Column from the south. Behind: the

Nordkette The Nordkette, also variously called the North Chain, Northern Range, rarely the Inn Valley Range or Inn Valley Chain (''Inntalkette''), is a range of mountains just north of the city of Innsbruck in Austria. It is the southernmost of the four g ...

mountain chain File:Innsbruck Annasäule detail (from left) Ss. Cassian of Imola, George, Vigilius of Trent - viewn from c.South.jpg, From the south (from left to right): St. Cassian, St. George, St. Vigilius

References

External links

*{{Commons category-inline, Annasäule Innsbruck, St. Anne's Column Sculptures of saints 18th-century sculptures Marble sculptures in Austria Monuments and memorials in Austria Monumental columns in Austria Tyrolean culture Buildings and structures in Innsbruck

See also

References

External links