St. Pancras Chapel (Sankt Aegidi)
The St. Pankratius Chapel is located in the remote area of Schauern in the municipality of St. Aegidi in the Schärding district on the edge of a forest. It is a listed building .
Nothing is known about the origins of the St. Pankraz Church that previously existed here and about its founders. When Engelszell was founded in 1293 , St. Pankraz already existed. From 1302 the St. Pankraz Church was cared for by fathers from Engelszell. From 1446, St. Pankraz gained great importance as a place of pilgrimage: As mentioned in a document, many believers made pilgrimages here because relics of St. Pankraz had been transferred. The answers to prayer are said to have been connected to the still existing water source in the church. It is reported that every year on the Sunday after Peter and Paul, up to 3,000 horses came together and were taken to the spring to drink. What could be got as water was then carried home. Other records tell that the horses' eyes were washed with the spring water and then rode three times around the church. Still other statements say that the horses were even ridden into the church and had to eat consecrated oats in front of the pancreatic altar in order to stay healthy all year round.
In 1550 the St. Pankraz Church was rebuilt in honor of his namesake at the instigation of the Engelszell abbot Pankrazius. For this purpose, the stones were removed from Harchheim Castle and used for the new building. During the peasant uprising of 1626 the church of St. Pankraz was completely looted. The Engelszell abbot Hyronimus then had the church restored thoroughly and put up a new altar, which was dedicated to the 14 helpers in need . In Engelszeller Urbar from 1662 one reads that the church threw a lot of sacrificial money every year, which is why it amassed a significant fortune. When it was busy, the church was bustling with funfair; Passau and Engelszell often fought over the rich yields from demurrage. The bar at the Kirchenwirt in St. Aegidi showed a troublesome side, because there was still heavy drinking here.
To date, no picture of this church can be found. Nevertheless, we know what it was like, as the foundations of the church could still be seen until 50 years ago. Accordingly, it was about 20 m long and 10 m wide. The church was too small on feast days. The sermon had to take place outside the church in order to reach all believers.
This church was closed due to dilapidation in 1784 by Emperor Joseph II and released for demolition. The St. Pankratius Chapel, which still exists today, was built around 50 years later. The altarpiece in the chapel shows Mary on a crescent moon. The whereabouts of the relic of St. Pankraz is unknown. The restored Pankratius Chapel was consecrated in 1877 by Pastor Zöhrer. In 1905 the altarpiece of the former St. Pankraz Church was found and handed over to the parish church. The Pankratius chapel with the spring is still held in honor by the population. And the spring with the supposedly medicinal water is still flowing.
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Coordinates: 48 ° 28 ′ 47.1 ″ N , 13 ° 44 ′ 12.6 ″ E