| t was first in 1561 that the Jesuits founded in Innsbruck their monastery. In the 17th century a baroque church was erected, which houses the graves of Archduke Leopold II and his family and many famous Jesuit priests like Karl Rahner.
1592 Saint Petrus Canisius founded on request of Emperor Ferdinand I. the Jesuit Colleg including a high school in Innsbruck.
1619 the church was being built but 1626 the construction collapsed.
1627 with new plans the church was built bigger supported by Archduke Leopold V. and his wife Claudia von Medici,
who are buried in the church's crypt.
1633 - 1754 the church is being built and already renovated
1773 The community of the Jesuits is being eliminated, the church is being named University church and now owned by the state.
1838 The community of the Jesuits is re-established and the Jesuits come back to Innsbruck and again take over their church.
Only in 1901 the missing 2 towers are being built and new bells are installed, which were in 1916 removed as metal was needed for World War I.
1939 As the NS-Regime takes over the Jesuits are banished, the church becomes a local parish church.
1943 as the first bombs hit Innsbruck, the church is almost completely destroyed.
After the war the church was rebuilt using the remains of the old church. Renovations started 2003 and were completed in 2005.
The church houses one of the largest bells in Austria - the 9200 kg bell donated by the Tyrolean Schützen. |