Maria Schmolln

With the construction of the large pilgrimage church between 1860 and 1863, a settlement was formed around the church, which grew larger and larger over time. At the end of 1898, Maria Schmolln became an independent community .

Since the founding of the Duchy of Bavaria, the place was Bavarian until 1779 and came to Austria after the Treaty of Teschen with the Innviertel (then "Innbaiern"). Briefly Bavarian again during the Napoleonic Wars , since 1814 it has finally belonged to Upper Austria.

After Austria was annexed to the German Reich on March 13, 1938, the place belonged to the "Gau Oberdonau". After 1945 the restoration of Upper Austria took place. In 2006 a stumbling block was laid for the Franciscan Father Ludwig Seraphim Binder, who was murdered by the National Socialists.

History of the pilgrimage

According to tradition, the farmer Michael Priewasser hung a picture of Mary on a tree in 1735 in memory of his missing son. It was intended to encourage passers-by to pray for his son. As early as 1784, due to the growing popularity of the place, a wooden chapel was built, but it had to be demolished in 1810 on official orders. But because the image of Mary continued to be venerated by the population, a wooden chapel was built again in 1850. A snack station was created, farmers settled in through clearing and the place grew. The residents built today's pilgrimage church on their own, which was consecrated in 1863 together with the Franciscan monastery and elementary school. In 1880, instead of the wooden chapel, the current Gnadenkapelle was built on the north side.

coat of arms

The coat of arms shows a green conifer on a hill on a silver background, on it a golden Mariagram, which characterizes the name and meaning of the pilgrimage site.

politics

Maria Schmolln's municipal council has a total of 19 members. With the municipal council and mayoral elections in Upper Austria in 2015 , the municipal council has the following distribution: 11 ÖVP, 4 SPÖ and 4 FPÖ.

mayor

2008–2020 Wilfried Gerner (ÖVP)
since 2020 Norbert Heller (ÖVP)

Infrastructure

Nursing home Maria Rast:
The nursing home Maria Rast has existed since 1884 and is run by the Franciscan Sisters operated Vöcklabruck. In 2002 the home was expanded to include a new building complex with 3 floors and 80 beds. The new home is particularly identified by its modern architecture. Several apartments for assisted living were set up in the old building .

education

In the course of the construction of the pilgrimage church between 1860 and 1863, a schoolhouse was built, which was opened in 1861.

Today in Maria Schmolln there is a kindergarten and an elementary school , in which an average of 70-100 students are taught.

Pilgrimage church: interior before 1962

Culture and sights

Pilgrimage Church of Maria Schmolln:
On June 18, 1860 the foundation stone was laid for today's pilgrimage church, which was inaugurated in 1863. The church is built in the arched style, has a length of 42 meters and a width of 15 meters.

In 1867 Maria Schmolln became its own parish, since then the place has been considered the most important place of pilgrimage in the Innviertel . Since the side chapel with the image of Mary turned out to be too small, a larger chapel was built in 1880/81 according to the plans of the artist and Franciscan father Johannes Maria Reiter . In the floor of the chapel, a glass plate shows the location of the tree on which the farmer attached the image of Mary.

In 1949, the bells that were confiscated during World War II were replaced by a new one (tones: C, Eb, G, B). In 1962, the rich historical furnishings of the church interior were completely removed and the polychrome decorative painting was whitewashed. In 1992 an extensive restoration and redesign of the interior took place. The Tyrolean sculptor Rudolf Millonig designed and made the main and side altars based on themes from the creed .

Former Franciscan monastery:
soon after the pilgrimage church was built, Bishop Franz Joseph Rudigier tried to get religious to provide pastoral care to the pilgrims. In 1864 the first Franciscans of the Tyrolean province came to Maria Schmolln. Due to the strong blossoming of the pilgrimage, the original priest's house was expanded in 1871 so that ten Franciscans could live in the monastery. They took care of the pilgrims and also did pastoral work in the surrounding communities.

In January 1941 the monastery was abolished under the National Socialist rule . Only two priests were allowed to stay in Maria Schmolln for pastoral care and the building was used, among other things, as a children's holiday camp. In August 1945 the monastery was returned to its original purpose. In September 2014 the branch in Maria Schmolln was given up by the Franciscans. Since then the place of pilgrimage has been looked after by a secular priest.

Regular events

Forest festival: The event of the volunteer fire brigade at Maria Schmolln's sports field usually takes place in June or July and lasts three days (Friday to Sunday).
Schmollner Advent Market: On the 1st weekend of Advent of the year, an Advent market takes place on the village square of Maria Schmolln, which is organized by local associations (gold bonnets, sports union , etc.).
Maschkerer: On the day before the last Rauhnacht, on January 5th, masked “passengers” go from house to house. The Schweigersreith and Michlbach collieries have maintained the "Maschkerergang" for more than 200 years. In recent years, more and more children's groups have come together in the community to imitate the big mines.

societies

More than 20 clubs are active in Maria Schmolln, including a. the Goldhaubengruppe, the beekeeping association , the Maria Schmolln band , and many more

Theatre:

The stage fright theater group has been active in Maria Schmolln since 1991. The group, which consists mainly of Maria Schmollner, performs at regular intervals in the sports hall or in other places, e.g. B. Various pieces ( comedies , dramas, etc.) in the monastery garden .

Drinking buddies:

The aim of the mines is to maintain certain customs such as dancing country folk, setting up the maypole , maschker, palm tree binding, etc. In Maria Schmolln there are two active drinking comrades: the Michlbach and Schweigertsreith collars.

Sports

outdoor pool
Ski lift
Union: The AAG Union Raiba Maria Schmolln was founded on July 23, 1949. In the sections fitness, judo, cross-country skiing, alpine skiing / snowboarding, stick sports, archery and tennis are practiced.

Personalities

Honorary citizen

Otto von Habsburg (1912–2011), awarded in 1947

gallery

Maschker at the Michlbach colliery, 1969
Maria Schmolln square (panorama)
View from the hunting chapel (panorama)

literature

Florentin Nothegger: Maria-Schmolln pilgrimage site. Maria Schmolln 1963. The pilgrimage and church guide (5,000 copies each) is revised for each new edition and brought up to date. PHR
Matthias Eisterer : Pilgrimage booklet for the place of grace Maria Schmolln in Upper Austria (Innviertel). St. Norbertus Printing House, Vienna, 1896.

Peter Janßen: MARIA-SCHMOLLN souvenir pictures. [Ed.]: Carl Heinz Kurz, Verlag Zum Halben Bogen, Göttingen 1987 (P. Janßen's memories of his evacuation in the pilgrimage site during the war of 1943–1945).

Web links

Commons : Maria Schmolln - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Website of the Maria Schmolln community
Pilgrimage Maria Schmolln
Franciscan monastery Maria Schmolln
40420 - Maria Schmolln. Community data, Statistics Austria .
More information about the community of Maria Schmolln on the geographic information system of the federal state of Upper Austria .

Individual evidence

↑ Statistics Austria: Population on January 1st, 2020 by locality (area status on January 1st, 2020) , ( CSV )
^ State of Upper Austria, history and geography, coat of arms. Retrieved April 6, 2019 .
^ Province of Upper Austria, Politics, Election 2015. (PDF) Accessed on April 6, 2019 .
↑ ottovonhabsburg.org, accessed July 6, 2011.

[Metadaten_Einwohnerzahl_AT_Ortschaft_QUELLE-1] Statistics Austria: Population on January 1st, 2020 by locality (area status on January 1st, 2020) , ( CSV )

[2] State of Upper Austria, history and geography, coat of arms. Retrieved April 6, 2019 .

[3] Province of Upper Austria, Politics, Election 2015. (PDF) Accessed on April 6, 2019 .

[4] ttovonhabsburg.org, accessed July 6, 2011.