Maria Schmolln
Maria Schmolln | ||
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Maria Schmolln | ||
Coordinates: 48°08′00″N 13°13′00″E / 48.13333°N 13.21667°ECoordinates: 48°08′00″N 13°13′00″E / 48.13333°N 13.21667°E | ||
Country | Austria | |
State | Upper Austria | |
District | Braunau am Inn | |
Government | ||
• Mayor | Wilfried Gerner (ÖVP - 2009) | |
Area | ||
• Total | 34.47 km2 (13.31 sq mi) | |
Elevation | 557 m (1,827 ft) | |
Population (1 January 2013)[1] | ||
• Total | 1,363 | |
• Density | 40/km2 (100/sq mi) | |
Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | |
• Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | |
Postal code | 5241 | |
Area code | 07743 | |
Vehicle registration | BR | |
Website | www.maria-schmolln.at |
Maria Schmolln is a municipality in the district of Braunau am Inn of the Austrian state of Upper Austria state. The community is mainly known as an important pilgrimage destination among rural Innviertel. The name comes from its location on the “Schmollner Berg”, literally small mountain.
Geography
Maria Schmolln lies in the south of the Innviertel amid the rolling hills (max height: 767 m - 2,516 ft) covered by the Kobernaußer Forest, which, together with the adiacent Hausruck Forest in Hausruckviertel, is one of the largest contiguous forest in Central Europe.
The municipality is structured in the three cadastral entities of Oberminathal, Schnellenberg and Schweigert Reith, and has an extension of 34,47 km2 (13,31 sq mi).
Geologically the area is part of the molasse basin that formed, north of the Alps, during the Oligocene and Miocene epochs.
History
The Duchy of Bavaria owned the area until 1780 when the Peace of Teschen awarded the entire Innviertel, then called "Innbaiern", to Austria. For a short period of time, during the Napoleonic Wars, it returned to Bavaria, but in 1814 it was definitively incorporated into Upper Austria. Maria Schmolln didn't exist yet. The community established itself only in the years from 1860 to 1863 by settling around the shrine and growing with it until, by the end of 1898, Maria Schmolln became an independent municipality. After the “Anschluss”, the annexation of Austria to the German Reich on 13 March 1938, the village belonged to the "Upper Danube" entity. However in 1945 at the end of the Second World War, it returned to the Upper Austria state of an independent Austria. In 2006 a Stolperstein was laid down in the sidewalk in front of the door of the last address of the Franciscan Father Ludwig Seraphim Binder, killed by the Nazi regime. Forthy more Stolpersteine were placed in the district of Braunau am Inn by Cologne artist Gunter Demnig in memory of victims of the Third Reich.
The Sanctuary
According to tradition, all started in 1735 when the farmer Michael Priewasser hung a picture of Saint Mary on a tree in memory of his lost son. This way passers-by would stop and be moved to pray for him. Already in 1784, due to the growing popularity of the place, a wooden chapel was built, and afterward demolished, in 1810, by the order of the authorities. Being the image of Saint Mary still worshiped by many, a new wooden chapel was built back in 1850. A shelter for the pilgrims was built, clearings were cut so that people could start settling down around the shrine and the village was born, and continued to grow.
On their own initiative the inhabitants built the current shrine, which together with the little Franciscan Cloister and the elementary school, was inaugurated in 1863. In 1880 the original wooden chapel was demolished and the present worship chapel was built to the north side of the sanctuary. In 1867 Maria Schmolln became a separate parish as it turned to be the most important pilgrimage site in the Innviertel.
The shrine, built in the Romanesque revival style, has a length of 42 meters and a width of 15 meters. The side chapel, where the image of St. Mary is worshiped, was built according to the plans of the artist and Franciscan Father John Mary Reiter. A glass panel in the floor signs the location of the tree on which the image was originally appended. In 1962 the rich historicist features of the interior with their polychrome decorations and paintings were removed and replaced with a white finish. Again in 1992 an extensive renovation and redesign of the interior took place. The new main and side altars were designed and built by the Tyrolean sculptor Rudolf Millonig, as it was the new “pilgrims fountain”, built near the side chapel in 2007.
The cloister
In 1864 the Bishop Franz-Josef Rudigier concerned himself with providing due pastoral care to the pilgrims by moving the first Franciscans in from Tyrol. As the pilgrimage site blossomed, in 1871 the original rectory was enlarged to become a cloister housing ten Franciscans, who not only took care of pilgrims but tended also the surrounding communities. In 1941 the monastery was repealed as per Nazi orders. Only two priests remained, and part of the building was transformed into a children' hostel. In 1945 the cloister was handed back to its original function, and today a small convent of Franciscans continues to serve the chapel.
Community
In the local council three parties are represented (2009): ÖVP (11 seats), SPÖ (6 seats), FPÖ (2 seats).
The nursing home " Maria Rast " has been around since 1884 and is operated by the Franciscans nouns of Vöcklabruck. In 2002 the home was extended with a new building on three floors and 80 beds. The old building was renovated and now hosts several sheltered accommodations for vulnerable people.
Over twenty clubs are active in Maria Schmolln, the most important being the beekeeper club, the Music Band, the Theater Group, the Church Choir. The local Union houses and organizes many sport and wellness activities like judo, cross country, downhill skiing / snowboarding, curling, and tennis. There is also a municipal swimming pool and ski lift.
Mountain biking is also a popular activity carried out in the lush wooded area surrounding the village by locals as well as tourists.
There are also more traditional activities: Ländler dance, erection of Maypole, folk, carnival and garden festivals.
The Volunteer fire department manage many different social recreations, like the Forest Festival which falls in the summer months. On December week-ends local associations organize the “Advent Market” on the village streets.
On the “Maschkerer” Festival, or the Twelfth Night, which concludes the entire Christmas period, people, lately children in particular, dress up and walk from house to house to entertain with music and songs.
Notable people
- Franciscan Father Ludwig Seraphim Binder, victim of the Nazi regime
- Otto von Habsburg (1912–2011), who became honorary Citizen of Maria Schmolln in 1947 [2]
References
Bibliography
- Florentin Nothegger, Wallfahrtsort Maria-Schmolln, Maria Schmolln 1963 (de)
- Matthias Eisterer: Wallfahrtsbüchlein für den Gnadenort Maria Schmolln in Ober-Österreich (Innviertel), St.-Norbertus-Druckerei, Wien, 1896 (de)
- Karte zur Raumeinheit Hausruck und Kobernaußerwald (de)
- Amt der oö Landesregierung, Naturschutzabteilung, ed. (2007), [pdf, land-oberoesterreich.gv.at "Raumeinheit Hausruck und Kobernaußerwald"] (in German), Natur und Landschaft / Leitbilder für Oberösterreich (Lochen/Linz) Band 25, pdf, land-oberoesterreich.gv.at
External links
- Official website of Maria Schmolln (de)
- Wallfahrtskirche Maria Schmolln (de)
- Franziskanerkloster Maria Schmolln (de)
- Church Choir Maria Schmolln (de)
- Municipal data for Maria Schmolln. In: Statistik Austria. (de)
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