Memorial Chapel Albin Egger-Lienz

Cycle of images of the Warrior Memorial Chapel (see pictures)

In the Lienz Warrior Memorial Chapel are the only frescoes ever painted by Egger - Lienz.

Sower and Devil (probably 1923)

The farmer with blue pants, white shirt, and wide-brimmed hat strides sowing across the field, the devil, depicted as a naked man, follows him.

Egger - Lienz illustrates the biblical parable of the good and bad seed, with the devil"s seed unleashing war here.

Storm. The Nameless (1925)

War arises from the devil"s seed. Soldiers storm with wide strides in a crouched position towards the attack. The aim of the composition is universality.

By listing the battlefields of World War I at the bottom left, the artist emphasizes this concern.

Sacrifice of the Dead (1925)

Six closed wooden coffins are stacked on top of each other. On the top seventh wooden coffin lies the body of a soldier. War brings death, which for Egger - Lienz is always associated with hope of resurrection. (Ero mors tua o mors - I will be your death, oh Death).  

The Risen One (1925)

The cycle of images ends with the resurrection of Christ. Christ is depicted in half-figure facing the viewer in front of the empty coffin. In his left hand, he holds the flag of the cross. This portrayal sparked fierce protests, ultimately leading to an interdict.

The scandal surrounding the "Risen One"

The conclusion of the cycle was formed by Christ, the Redeemer - who, however, seemed too little divine to Stemberger and others, or even in the press was mocked as a "consumptive" or as an "Indian chief, if the nose ring was missing". bildete Christus, der Erlöser – der aber eben Stemberger und anderen zu wenig göttlich vorkam bzw. in der Presse sogar als „Schwindsüchtiger“ oder als „Indianerhäuptling, wenn nicht der Nasenring fehlte“, verspottet wurde.

The scandal ultimately resulted in the imposition of an interdict by the Vatican in Rome on May 5, 1926, which is why no church services could be held in the chapel. And this continued until the revision of the church law in 1983, which no longer provided for a location-based church service ban. The chapel was reconsecrated in June 1987.

Albin Egger-Lienz is buried in "his" chapel at his own request.

The eventful history of the District War Memorial, marked by a solid scandal, begins after the end of the First World War. District Captain Erich Kneußl was able to win all 50 municipalities, with the city of Lienz taking the lead, for the restoration of the arcades at the Lienz parish church of St. Andrä and the establishment of a district war memorial for the fallen.

The construction work was carried out in 1924/25 according to the plans of the architect Clemens Holzmeister. Albin Egger-Lienz furnished the specially designed memorial chapel with a four-part cycle of pictures. The solemn opening took place on September 8, 1925, with around 10,000 participants and in the presence of Federal President Michael Hainisch, Governor Franz Stumpf, and Bishop Sigismund Waitz.

The memorial was intended not only to commemorate the war victims of 1914-1918 but also to give the district of Lienz, which was even more isolated after the loss of South Tyrol, the first facets of a new identity.

From 1950 to 1962, the inclusion of all approximately 1,800 fallen soldiers from the district in the Second World War followed step by step – the victims of the bombing raids were named in the chapel – as well as renewed intensive renovation work to preserve the memorial from decay.