One of Innsbruck's main churches is located not far from Hofburg Palace in the center of the Old Town. The first Church of the Holy Trinity appeared on this site in 1562, together with the Jesuit college, but it did not stand for long.
From 1627 to 1640, a new cross-shaped building was erected on the site of the collapsed church. At the same time, the foundations for two towers on the facade of the church were laid, but the Thirty Years' War severely depleted the treasury, and the construction of the towers was postponed until better times. The tall clock towers appeared on the church only in 1910, almost 300 years later. Now, however, they have become a true adornment of the historic Baroque building.
Inside, the Jesuit Church is very spacious and bright. The white walls and ceiling are decorated with stucco ornaments, and the interior is finished with carved panels of valuable dark wood and wrought elements. The church contains the tombs of Leopold V, Archduke of Austria and bishop, as well as his wife, Claudia de' Medici. The tower houses Austria's fourth-largest bell, weighing 9200 kilograms.
Since the Jesuit order was suppressed in 1773 by Pope Clement XIV, the church and its college passed into the ownership of the University of Innsbruck. After the order was restored, the church remained a university church.
The church occupies an important place in the city's religious, educational, and cultural life. Services here are held in 20 languages, including Russian, Chinese, and Esperanto.
