Parish Church St. Jodok - Services

Parish Church St. Jodok - Services

Very soon after their settlement in the 13th century, the Mittelbergers built an initial place of worship. A stone with the year 1302 on the outer wall of the choir is likely considered evidence of the existence of a small sacred building. In 1390, a new chapel along with an altar and cemetery was consecrated. As early as 1391, Mittelberg was elevated to an independent parish. Until then, the village belonged to the parish of Fischen in the Allgäu, where the faithful had to walk the approximately 20 km long arduous path for mass and funerals. Mittelberg belonged to the Diocese of Constance. At that time, the parish's catchment area extended from Baad over Hirschegg to Schwende and the parcels Letze and Zwerwald. In 1463, the church was rebuilt. The parish church received its current appearance in 1693 through an extension of seven meters and the construction of the sacristy as well as a gallery. An avalanche entered the church nave that year, which is why the main entrance was bricked up and two side doors were opened.

The tower, the landmark of the village, bears the year 1371 on its northwest side. Tradition reports that construction on this 66 m high tower took about 40 years. Noteworthy are the restored late Gothic frescoes from around 1470, which give the parish church a special atmosphere. The wall paintings once depicted the "biblia pauperum," the Bible for believers unskilled in reading. An art-historical treasure is the baptismal font with the year 1495. It is shaped like an octagonal chalice and features the symbols of the four evangelists and St. Jodok, as well as the coat of arms of the Austrian ducal house (Bindeschild) and the coat of arms of Katharina of Saxony, the second wife of the sovereign archduke Sigismund of Tyrol. He had gifted the baptismal font to the Walser people.

Other sights include the late Gothic relief busts of St. Jodok and St. John with Christ, the "Pantocrator," as well as a Pietà from the 17th century and the baroque chorbogen cross with three putti. In the round ceiling painting, St. Jodok is depicted in the attire of a monk and a laid aside royal crown, along with the Walser saint Theodul as a bishop with a bell and a devil, both hovering over the village of Mittelberg. In their hometown Mittelberg, Georg Willam (1981) and Stefan Biondi (1983) celebrated their first mass.