Facilities in St Johann in Tirol

St Johann has world-class facilities off the slopes, and a huge choice of things to do. The Panorama Badewelt indoor swimming pool includes a giant water slide, parent and child pool, outdoor pool (36°C), sauna and wellness area. Indoor facilities include three places to play billiards,a bowling alley, a tennis hall, a fitness studio and town library. You could also take a short 10km (6 mile) trip to the casino in Kitzbühel should a spot of gambling appeal. Outdoors a floodlit toboggan run starts at the Hochfeld and Hirschberg mountain inns and leads all the way down to the valley. The run is floodlit daily until midnight. There's an ice rink, several curling rinks and a riding school as well as several businesses offering sleigh rides. If you'd like to try airborne then there's paragliding or scenic balloon trips - a great way to take in the sights! Night skiing is also offered on several evenings each week. St Johann's rich history can be seen in various historic buildings and museum open to the public. The village's most famous building is probably the distinctive Pfarrkirche (church) which was built between 1723 and 1732 by Abraham Millauer. It has an impressive frontage with two steeples and inside there are famous frescoes and a magnificent pulpit. The painting on the high altar shows all the patrons of the church. Four of the churches five bells date back to 1948, but the biggest one was cast back in 1777. Older still is the Antoniuskapelle, built by an unknown architect between 1669 and 1675. The dome paintings by Josef Schöpf dating from 1803 show a historic view of the village. The large crucifix was created by Josef Haid in 1815. Other historic buildings include the Dekanatspfarrhof, dating back to the 17th century, it is an ancient summer residence of the famous local Chiemsee bishops. Located on the Wieshoferstraße and open all year, admission is free. The Schellhornhaus in the village centre, on the right of the Bären inn was the headquaters of the Tirolean freedom fighter Speckbacher in 1809 . Unfortunately, it is not possible to enter this building but the frontage is interesting. The Dechant Wieshofer Denkmal commemorates the time when, in 1809, this village's Roman Catholic priest boldly faced the enemy all alone at the entrance of the parish and, speaking in perfect French, asked the general Lefebre to spare the village. The general, surprised by the priest's courage, complied with the request and St Johann was spared destruction. The Nepomuk statue next to the bridge at the Pillersee Ache stream was built in 1717 on behalf of Bishop Adolf von Chiemsee. The Kriegerdenkmal war memorial in the village centre was designed by sculptor Mühlegger in memory of the victims of the first world war. 2km (1.25 miles) west of the village is Spital auf der Weitau where the oldest bell in the Tirol (700 years old) is located. Hans Strauß painted the glass window behind the high altar and it is the only one in the whole country that is totally preserved. The building is Baroque in style and consecrated to St. Nikolaus. The village Museum der Marktgemeinde houses a permanent exhibition in the basement of a traditional house and records the historical significance of St Johann as the main parish of the Leukental valley , as well as a long-time residence of the Chiemsee bishops. It records how st Johann grew from a small to quite a prosperous little village.