Saint John the Baptist Church, Catholic parish church in Ampass, Tyrol, Austria

Saint John the Baptist Church in Ampass is a late Gothic building baroquefied in 1744, with a nave and choir under a barrel vault and a separate bell tower topped by an onion dome dated 1773. The west portal has a baroque iron-plated door and a 1955 fresco of John the Baptist by Wolfram Köberl; a Renaissance-framed fresco of Saint Christopher with a hermit, damaged by a later window and uncovered in 1955, is on the south side of the choir.

A memoria with a reliquary found on the site points to a early Christian predecessor, possibly from the 5th century. The parish is first documented in 1145, shortly after the original parish seat moved from Ambras Castle to Ampass; since 1256 it has been incorporated into Wilten Abbey. A church consecrated in 1426 burned down in 1567, and the new building was dedicated in 1574. Repairs after the 1670 earthquake lasted until 1689, and the interior was baroquised in 1744.

The high altar came from Wilten Abbey: it stood in the abbey church in 1693 and was sold to Ampass in 1727, then rebuilt in 1793 by Johann and Josef Mussack with four wide-set columns. Its central carved group shows the Baptism of Christ and is attributed to Nikolaus Moll.

The church is easy to find on Kirchweg street in the center of Ampass village. The door is open to visitors, there is parking nearby, and there is no strict dress code for visiting.

The high altar was made of stucco marble in 1693 for the Stiftskirche Wilten and sold to Ampass in 1727; in 1793 Johann and Josef Mussack rebuilt it with four wide-set columns. Its central niche holds a carved Baptism of Christ attributed to Nikolaus Moll.