Wilten Abbey consists of a collegiate church and a large men's monastery belonging to the Catholic Premonstratensian order.
A beautiful ancient legend attributes the founding of the monastery to the giant Haimon, who came to Tyrol from Bavaria. He engaged in battle with a local giant named Tyrsus and killed him at the foot of Mount Bergisel. To atone for this crime, Haimon built a monastery near the mountain, and this happened around the year 880. Chronicles of the 13th century claim that Haimon is buried beneath the altar of the church of Wilten Abbey.
There are still many legends about giants in Tyrol; one of them, for example, tells how Haimon killed a dragon and tore out its tongue. The dragon's golden tongue is even displayed in the Ferdinandeum Museum. Another legend says that where the blood of Tyrsus was spilled on the mountains, healing Tyrolean stone oil now appears, with the help of which many ailments are treated.
The legends of the giants are reflected in the design of the church. Huge white statues of Haimon and Tyrsus guard the entrance to the church. In the vestibule you will meet Haimon again - the five-meter statue, created back in 1470, once lay on the supposed tomb of the giant, and now it has been restored and installed at the entrance.
The architecture of the collegiate church and monastery also looks like an illustration to a beautiful fairy tale. A tall ornate tower, many snow-white statues on the roof, bright red-and-yellow walls against the backdrop of mountains and an azure sky - all this seems to have stepped out of the pages of an old book.
A museum is open at the abbey, featuring many exhibits related to the daily life and religious rites of the monks and to the history of the ancient monastery.
