Butcher island

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Butcher Island
(Ochsenkreuz)
Butchers island with wayside shrine ox cross
Butchers island with wayside shrine ox cross
Waters Wolfgangsee
Geographical location 47 ° 45 '45.19 "  N , 13 ° 23' 12.12"  E Coordinates: 47 ° 45 '45.19 "  N , 13 ° 23' 12.12"  E
Butcher Island (State of Salzburg)
Butcher island
length 17 m
width 9 m
surface 0.01 ha
Highest elevation 540  m above sea level A.

The Metzgerinsel is the only island in the Wolfgangsee in the state of Salzburg in Austria. The tiny rock island belongs to the municipality of Sankt Gilgen , specifically to the cadastral municipality of Winkl, and is only around 20 meters away from the rocky and steep northern east bank near the Falkensteinwand . The wayside shrine is a listed building ( list entry ).

The name Metzgerinsel is rarely used. Far better known is the name ox cross for the wayside shrine on the island , originally a cross . In contrast to the Ochsenkreuz , Metzgerinsel is also not an official name according to the Salzburg Geographical Information System , as is the occasionally used name Ochseninsel .

According to a legend , a butcher drove an ox to the slaughter on the western shore of the lake. Then the animal shied and jumped into the lake. The butcher did not want to lose the animal and held onto its tail and was dragged into the water. The ox swam east for an hour with the butcher in tow, who as a non-swimmer was scared to death. The animal finally drew the man to the small island, which has since been called Butcher Island. In his agony, the man had vowed to sacrifice as much wax as the ox weighed. Miraculously, however, the animal weighed only four pounds.

In gratitude for the salvation, the ox cross was erected in 1667 and has been renewed since then whenever it became dilapidated. In its current form it is actually a brick wayside shrine, with a mural depicting the scene when the ox pulls the butcher to the small island.

Almost 400 meters further south-east, a few meters above the steep lakeshore is the wedding cross .

Individual evidence

  1. Measured from Sagis
  2. ^ Section Saint Wolfgang of Austria. Tourist clubs (ed.): Market St. Wolfgang on Wolfgangsee. Description of the market and its surroundings in 1924, Linz 1924 , p. 28
  3. after Josef Brettenthaler, Das große Salzburger Sagenbuch, Krispl 1994, p. 98

Web links

Commons : Ochsenkreuz  - Collection of images, videos and audio files