Churches & Chapels
Churches & chapels in Tannheimer Tal
The churches and chapels in the Tannheimer Tal are ideal stops for breaks and contemplative moments, as they are freely accessible to everyone. Among the 31 churches and chapels in the Tyrolean high valley, there is one special feature that only the Tannheimer Tal has to offer: the Löffler-Geläut in the Tannheimer St. Nikolaus Church, the second largest village church in Tyrol: when it is intoned, it can be heard throughout the Tannheimer Tal. It weighs three tons and has a diameter of 1.61 metres. "It was cast in 1561 by Gregor Löffler and his two sons Helias and Hanns Christoph," says Donatus Wagner, the former priest of Tannheim. Their name is Löffler-Glocke, but they actually know the people in the valley as weather bells. "It is an old custom that it is rung when thunderstorms threaten," explains Donatus Wagner. This is still the case today. The ringing of the mighty bell is supposed to trigger such strong pressure waves that it can drive away the clouds.