Mariahilfberg (Gutenstein)
.JPG)
The hamlet of Mariahilfberg near Gutenstein is a pilgrimage site in southern Lower Austria on a saddle below the 818 meter high Residenzberg. On this hill ( 708 m above sea level ) there is the pilgrimage church Mariahilfberg, a Servite monastery , a way of the cross with a holy grave, a hermitage , other sacred small monuments and a few secular buildings.
Origin as a place of pilgrimage
In the middle of the 17th century a pilgrimage church was founded on this site after some miraculous events had taken place. The starting point for these miracles was a picture of the Holy Mother of Mercy attached to a beech tree , a copy of the miraculous image of Mariazell . The portrait itself was made on the basis of a dream by the blacksmith and market judge von Gutenstein, which was repeated seven times, and was attached to a tree there in 1661. In 1664 there were wondrous light phenomena and the appearance of a white dove , which was interpreted as the Holy Spirit, in this image . In addition, the healing of a local's paralyzed arm was traced back to the invocation of the "Madonna von Bruchschach", as it was then called. The news about these events spread quickly and soon the place was a destination for pilgrims and seekers of salvation. Today the miraculous image is in the high altar; it can be removed for veneration. A copy of the picture is on the steeple of the pilgrimage church, protected from wind and weather by a metal cladding.
Pilgrimage church Mariahilfberg
_-_Kirche,_Hochaltar.JPG)
Due to the events and the increasing pilgrimage activity, the first wooden chapel was built in 1665 at the place where the current pilgrimage church stands. Due to a vow after a hunting accident, the owner of the Gutenstein estate, Johann Balthasar II, Count von Hoyos , initiated the construction of a pilgrimage church in 1668. In the same year, the miracles that took place in this place were also confirmed by Pope Clement IX. approved. On May 25, 1688, the church was consecrated by Cardinal Leopold von Kollonitsch as the Church of the “Helping Virgin Mary”. In 1708 the church was badly damaged by fire, it was rebuilt and enlarged at the same time in 1724 at the instigation of Count Philipp Josef Hoyos . The new inauguration took place in 1727. The baroque complex shows in its present form a cautiously decorated church facade with a central tower crowned by an onion helmet.
There are four stone figures on the cornice depicting Saints Gregory, Joachim, Augustine and Saint Anne.
The interior is a single-aisled hall, to which a three-year transept with two side altar niches was built (the extension from 1727). On the left is the so-called poor soul altar and on the right the altar of the Mother of Sorrows. Behind the pulpit with a depiction of the Evangelist Johannes is the choir with a baroque oratorio . On the high altar is a painting of the Queen of Heaven, Maria, above which the miraculous image of the place of pilgrimage hovers.
The Servite Monastery
_-_Kloster.JPG)
In 1672 Johann Balthasar II, Count von Hoyos, entrusted the servites with the care of the pilgrimage church. Three years later in 1675 he founded a monastery for them. From 1679 to 1685 they had an elongated, two-storey building built by master bricklayer Peter Baron and master carpenter Mathias Nietl in an obtuse corner in the southeast of the vestibule of the pilgrimage church. According to a third letter from the monastery, the monastery building was extended by four window axes in 1724 . The building has valuable stucco ceilings from the time it was built, especially in the summer refectory.
Other small sacred monuments in the area
- From the village of Gutenstein a path of prayer (the root path ) leads up to the pilgrimage church, where stations from the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary are depicted on statues.
- From the pilgrimage church a way of the cross leads along the Residenzberg with small chapels to a replica of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem.
- On the north side of the Residenzberg and south of the pilgrimage church there are some caves and rock overhangs in the porous limestone , in which there are depictions of saints and angels, for example the Magdalenenhöhle with the figurative representation of St. Magdalena.
- The Chapel of the Seven Fathers is a quarry stone chapel with a picture depicting the founding fathers of the Servite Order. It was restored in 2002.
- Just below and to the west of the summit of the Residenzberg you can see a replica of the Hermitage of the founder of the Order of the Servites (a chapel covered with stone slabs on a ledge).
Other facilities and comments
- Not far from the Hermitage the Raimundsitz . At this point, the poet Ferdinand Raimund is said to have regularly enjoyed nature and the view of the Schneeberg .
- The souvenir stalls for sale of devotional objects and candles, typical of pilgrimage sites.
- Several dining options.
- An animal enclosure with sheep, goats and chickens.
- There is an Austrian broadcasting tower at the summit of the Residenzberg .
- From the entrance of the church you have a magnificent distant view of the Schneeberg .
literature
- Gustav Gugitz : Austria's places of grace in cult and custom. Volume 2: Lower Austria and Burgenland. Vienna 1955, p. 102 ff.
- Without an author: The Mariahilfberg near Gutenstein (Lower Austria). A complete pilgrimage booklet for pilgrims to this place of grace. Gutenstein 1902.
- Hiltraud Ast : Three hundred years of Mariahilfberg sanctuary. Gutenstein 1968.
- Hermann Maurer : Drawing stone and wonder tree. Austria's churches and monasteries in their original legends. Klosterneuburg Abbey Museum 2000, cat.no.50 and 51a (page 114 f.).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Christian Art Centers Austria , No. 28, Verlag St. Peter, Salzburg, 1979, 2nd edition
- ^ Society of Friends of Gutenstein: Sacral Landscape Mariahilfberg in Gutenstein ; 2nd edition, 2012
- ↑ Information board on site
Coordinates: 47 ° 52 ′ 16 ″ N , 15 ° 52 ′ 32 ″ E