Maria Waldrast
Maria Waldrast is a pilgrimage monastery of the Servite order in the municipality of Mühlbachl in Tyrol . It lies at 1638 m above sea level. A. at the foot of the Serles and is one of the highest situated monasteries in Europe.
location
Maria Waldrast is located in a valley rising from Mühlbachl between Serles and Waldraster Jöchl. The monastery can be reached on hiking trails from Mützens , Mieders , Schönberg im Stubaital , Fulpmes and Trins . There are several open chapels on the pilgrimage route from Mützens. The monastery inn is a base for mountain hikes (especially for climbing the Serles) and for winter sports ( ski tours , cross-country skiing , tobogganing ).
history
The foundation of the monastery is based on a legend according to which two shepherd boys from Mützens found an image of the Virgin Mary grown out of a tree trunk here in 1407. The image, which was ascribed miraculous powers, was brought to Matrei , where it was soon sought out by pilgrims. In 1414, Bishop Ulrich Prustl von Brixen gave permission to build a chapel near the site. In 1429 the construction was completed and the miraculous image was transferred from Matrei. Maria Waldrast quickly became a much-visited place of pilgrimage, which was sponsored by the sovereigns and endowed with rich foundations. In the 15th century, miracle reports about the miracles ascribed to the worship of the miraculous image were recorded in Maria Waldrast , the manuscript is now in the Ferdinandeum Museum in Innsbruck .
In 1621 the Tyrolean Prince Archduke Leopold V laid the foundation stone for a Servite monastery, and the chapel, which had become too small, was enlarged. The monastery was occupied in 1624, but the work could not be completed until 1644 under Archduchess Claudia von Medici . The place of pilgrimage experienced its greatest heyday in the 18th century, with around 40,000 pilgrims coming to the forest rest every year. Emperor Joseph II abolished the monastery in 1785. The monks had to leave the monastery, the inventory was auctioned and the miraculous image was brought to Mieders. The buildings were covered and thus left to decay.
In 1844 the Servite order was able to buy back the monastery and church and rebuild it. In 1848 the miraculous image was brought back to the pilgrimage church from Mieders in a solemn procession, but the reconstruction was not completed until 1912. The monastery was again closed by the National Socialists in 1942, the image of grace first came to Matrei and then to the Rhineland . In November 1945 it was able to be set up again in Maria Waldrast.
description
The polygonal Gothic choir from the 15th century has been preserved from the original church building. The nave was rebuilt in the classicist style after it fell into disrepair in 1845/46 . The two-storey west facade is structured by four colossal pilasters and crowned by a triangular gable. In the north of the nave, the tower with a shortened helmet is built on. Nave, side chapels, choir and sacristy with a gable roof covered.
Most of the interior is early baroque. The three black and gold framed altars and pictures are by Michael Waldmann the Younger . On the tabernacle there is the miraculous image, a carved seated Madonna who offers the baby Jesus an apple. It dates from around 1420 and was carved over in the Baroque era. The passion boards on the nave wall also date from the 15th century.
literature
- Inge Dollinger: Tyrolean pilgrimage book. The pilgrimage sites in North, East and South Tyrol . Tyrolia / Athesia, Innsbruck / Bozen 1982, ISBN 3-7022-1442-9 , p. 32-35 .
- Franz Caramelle, Richard Frischauf: The monasteries and monasteries of Tyrol . Tyrolia / Athesia, Innsbruck / Bozen 1985, ISBN 3-7022-1549-2 , p. 173-174 .
- Oskar Dünser: Place of pilgrimage Maria Waldrast - origin and fate of the Marian place of grace and Servite monastery; 600 years of Maria Waldrast; first documented mention in 1392 (= Christian art sites in Austria . No. 214 ). 3. Edition. Publishing house St. Peter, Salzburg 2003.
Web links
Coordinates: 47 ° 7 ′ 51.4 ″ N , 11 ° 24 ′ 19.2 ″ E