In 1591 Archbishop Wolf Dietrich purchased a hospital and church in today's Kai District to establish a seminary. It was to be managed by an order of Theatine monks, founded by St. Cajetan and Pietro Caraffa in 1524. The order was brought to Salzburg in 1685 to found a new mission. Shortly thereafter a decision was reached to build a church and abbey in the Kai District at the very same location.
Architectural history
Gaspare Zugalli was commissioned as the architect and the brothers Francesco and Carl-Antonio Brenno and Antonio Carabelli provided the stuccowork. Construction of the Cajetan Church was discontinued upon Max Gandolf's death in 1687. It was completed in 1696 under Archbishop Johann Ernst von Thun and consecrated in 1700. The Theatine mission in Salzburg was dissolved in 1809 and the Cajetan Church almost fell to ruin. The church and abbey were turned over to the Brothers of Mercy in 1923, who took care of its maintenance.
The building was used as a hospital during World War II. It was damaged by bombs in 1944 and later restored.
Architecture and interior
The Cajetan Church is a typical product of the Italian Baroque in Salzburg. The broad, palatial façade connects the church and abbey to form a single unit. It has a mighty tambour dome, giving the building its sacred character.
The stuccowork inside the church lends a festive, elegant and distinct atmosphere. The dome, designed to allow light to flood in, dominates the room. The fresco in the mighty dome depicts the "Glory of St. Cajetan".
The high altar has a painting of "The Martyrdom of St. Maximilian". The oldest preserved organ in Salzburg, built around 1700 by Christoph Egedacher, is installed above the vestibule in the gallery parapet.
The Sacred Stairway, built in 1712 in imitation of the "scala santa" in Rome, is a special feature of the Cajetan Church and should only be ascended on one's knees. It is still reminiscent of the baroque forms of piety.
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