Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Baroque church in Bolzano, Italy

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is a baroque central-plan church on an octagonal base with a dome and lantern, located on the western slope of the Virgl hill south of Bolzano's old town. It is reached from the north via a stone flight of steps and a rectangular portal with a broken pediment, flanked by two windows, with a small bell tower above the facade. The straight-ended choir to the south houses a masonry Holy Sepulchre, and a chapel in front of the church has a grotto-like interior with a Christ statue of 1695 serving as a fountain.

Architect Pietro Delai designed this church in 1683, creating a building that reflected baroque design principles popular in the South Tyrolean region at that time. It was built as a religious center and has remained an important landmark in Bolzano's landscape ever since.

The church's name comes from the Holy Sepulchre replica built inside it by Jerusalem pilgrims in the 17th century. The patronal feast was transferred here in 1685 from the nearby Vigilius Chapel. The seven Stations of the Cross along the Via Crucis end at the church, where a Golgotha scene with three crosses stands beside the tomb chamber.

The church stands on the western slope of the Virgl above Bolzano, not in the old town; the old town is separated from it by the road and railway line between the Eisack and the hillside, and a motorway tunnel runs directly beneath the church. The steep climb begins at the Virglweg, where seven Stations of the Cross chapels lead up to the church. Some chapels were rebuilt after the Second World War.

In the chapel in front of the church, whose interior is shaped as a grotto, a Christ statue from 1695 serves as a fountain figure: the water flows from the heart of Christ into the basin. The church also holds life-size wooden figures of the Passion scenes, made in 1689 by Georg Mayr of Völs am Schlern.