Spitalskirche Innsbruck
Spitalskirche47°16′ N 11°24′ E
The Spitalskirche is a church on Innsbruck's Maria-Theresien-Strasse, right by that street's Christmas market, where ensembles of the city's music school play every day at 18:30 during Advent with no ticket listed. In 2026 it also hosts the Stecher-Advent on 8 December at 18:00 and the handing-on of the Bethlehem Peace Light on 23 December from 14:00.
Photo Uldis Osis · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 3.0 and others, credited in the gallery
Duck in from the Maria-Theresien-Straße market at 18:30 on any Advent evening and you will catch a group from the Musikschule Innsbruck playing. The organizer lists no ticket, and it makes a short pause between markets.
On 8 December the church holds the Stecher-Advent, an hour of thoughts from Bishop Reinhold Stecher and reflections from well-known people set to quiet Advent tunes by candlelight. On 23 December the Peace Light lit in Bethlehem is handed from person to person in front of the church between 14:00 and 16:00; bring a lantern if you want to carry the flame home.
Worth knowing
- Pair the 18:30 performance with the Maria-Theresien-Straße market, which is right outside.
Quick answers about Spitalskirche Innsbruck
Where can you hear free Advent music in Innsbruck?
The Spitalskirche on Maria-Theresien-Straße hosts ensembles of the Musikschule Innsbruck every day at 18:30 during Advent, and the Bergweihnacht organizer lists no ticket for it. A second music-school group plays daily at 18:00 on the theatre wagon in Seilergasse.
