Pilgrimage Church Maria Schnee (Drosendorf-Zissersdorf)
The pilgrimage church Maria Schnee ( Maria Schnee-Bründl or Schneebründl ) is a small pilgrimage church between Drosendorf and Zissersdorf in the Waldviertel ( Lower Austria ).
location
The pilgrimage church Maria Schnee is located east of the B 30 between Drosendorf and Zissersdorf in a hollow in the forest.
history
First pilgrimage church
In the same year (1693), in which a hermit in the so-called Spitalwald east of the road between Drosendorf and Zissersdorf was mentioned in a document, the application was made to build a church in honor of Maria Schnee at the expense of the Drosendorf hospital. At the same time as the church, a small dwelling was built for the hermit.
The year of completion, former size and furnishings are unknown. The only thing that has been preserved is the inventory list of the church goods that were kept by the Geras Abbey after the church was closed or demolished . However, it is transmitted that on August 7, 1712, on the occasion of a great pilgrimage, there were some brawls and that those involved were punished.
When the church threatened to deteriorate, Paul III. Franz Gratschmayr, Abbot of Geras Abbey, renovated the church, which became an increasingly popular place of pilgrimage for believers from the Waldviertel, but also from neighboring South Moravia .
Repeal
First of all, an imperial decree of January 12, 1782 stipulated that the hermits had to leave their hermitages. The last hermit from the Schneebründl had earned his living as a linen weaver and was financially supported by the Drosendorf rulers a few years later after the hermitage was closed, until this was also banned. Then his track was lost.
In 1783 the boundaries of the parish were reorganized. Zissersdorf, which until now only had a small chapel dedicated to Saint Johan and Paul, received a new church that was incorporated into the Geras monastery.
In the same year, a government decree ordered the closure of all neighboring churches and chapels, as services were only to be held in the parish churches. However, private services were still allowed, which were not allowed to compete with the parish church service, which would have enabled Maria Schnee to continue. In another government decree in 1786, the desecration of the pilgrimage church and its demolition were ordered. The sacristan's house, which originally belonged to Zissersdorf, but from 1823 to Elsern, was spared from being demolished.
The image of grace was set up in a house in Drosendorf and was visited by believers for a long period of time until it had to be delivered. The church utensils were taken into safekeeping by the abbot of the Geras monastery - Andreas Hayder. In a request to the district office in Krems an der Donau , the abbot asked that these church implements be left in Geras , since seven new parishes had to be administered by the monastery since 1783 (Zissersdorf, Harth , Göpfritz an der Wild , Nonndorf an der Wild , Pernegg , Trabernreith and Niklasberg).
New building
First considerations to rebuild the pilgrimage church came up around 1850. In 1857, under the direction of Franz Hauck, mayor and merchant in Drosendorf, the collection of donations began in order to be able to finance the beginning construction work.
Construction work was finished in 1867. The tower cross was consecrated on August 5th in Drosendorf, brought to Maria Schnee and attached to the tower. The chapel was consecrated on October 10, 1868 by Dean Nepomuk David after authorization by the Episcopal Consistory of Sankt Pölten with the participation of the pastor from Zissersdorf and other priests from the area. Also in 1868 the 100 kilogram bell was donated, which was cast by Joseph Hilzer in Iglau and consecrated in September by Doctor Joseph Feßler , Bishop of Sankt Pölten, in Raabs an der Thaya on the occasion of a general visit. On October 11, 1868, the bell was brought from Drosendorf to the chapel and raised.
After the permission of the episcopal consistory in Sankt Pölten was granted, the first Holy Mass in 86 years was read by Dean David on August 5, 1869.
From May 1, 1916, there was a stop for the Retz – Drosendorf local railway near the Maria Schnee pilgrimage church , which was only served on certain days and was closed again in 1938.
description
The pilgrimage church Maria Schnee was built as a three-bay hall church with arched windows. Above the western front with an arched portal there is a roof turret with a pyramid helmet on the saddle roof. The facade has a Tuscan pilaster structure and high plinths. Outside on the north side there is a fountain with a lion's head in relief from the 1st quarter of the 18th century as a gargoyle.
literature
- Alphons Žák : Maria Schnee-Bründl. Pilgrimage chapel near Drosendorf , Berger, Horn, 1908
- Franz Xaver Kießling : The little wells of Drosendorf and the surrounding area , 1899
- DEHIO Lower Austria - north of the Danube ISBN 3-7031-0652-2 (1990)
Web links
Coordinates: 48 ° 50 ′ 19.9 ″ N , 15 ° 37 ′ 47.2 ″ E