Church of Most Holy Saviour, Agrar

The Church of Most Holy Saviour, usually called Agrar Church, is a Roman Catholic place of worship at Bantwal in Dakshina Kannada, and among the oldest churches in the district. The name comes from the Kannada word agrahara, a village of Brahmins. A church was built in 1702, but one is believed to have existed here earlier, though no records show exactly when it began. Tipu Sultan demolished the first building, and returning Christians raised another on the same foundation.

Fr Camil Baretto rebuilt and enlarged it in 1889, and it was renovated for the parish tercentenary in 2002. The style is Baroque, and the altar frescos and paintings are well regarded: Br. Antonio Moscheni, the artist of the St. Aloysius Chapel in Mangalore, painted the sanctuary in 1902, with Jesus shown among his Apostles. Once a vast parish stretching from Bantwal to the Charmadi borders, it has given rise to several others.