Three Churches Path: Weiten - Maria Laach

Description

The fortified church of St. Stephen, which is also the mother parish of the Southern Waldviertel, is one of the most impressive church buildings in Lower Austria. Weiten and the church including the parish were already founded in the 11th century and were located in the core area of historic Austria under the Babenbergs. The Gothic nave with its Romanesque core was surrounded by a defensive wall in the 15th century. Particularly valuable are the Gothic stained-glass windows from the 14th century. Also noteworthy are the archway under the sacristy and the freestanding church tower.

Maria Laach is dominated by its pilgrimage church of the Visitation of Mary. The monumental stepped hall building from the 15th century is one of the most valuable late Gothic buildings in Austria. The church is one of the rare cases that was not baroque-ized and was able to preserve its Gothic interior. 1680 was the third major plague year of this century; the entire southern Waldviertel vowed to make a pilgrimage to Maria Laach every year. After the miraculous healing of a blind child in 1719, the number of pilgrims increased steadily. The image of grace "Maria Six Finger", the Gothic double-wing altar, and the Renaissance tomb of the noble Hans Georg von Kufstein from 1607 are the church's most valuable artifacts.

Starting point of the tour

Weiten, fortified church of St. Stephen

Destination point of the tour

Maria Laach, pilgrimage church of the Visitation of Mary

Route description Three Churches Path: Weiten - Maria Laach

We start at the original parish of the Southern Waldviertel, walk through the archway under the church and towards the town center. We cross the Weitenbach and arrive at Prangerplatz. Here we cross the main road and go diagonally left, following a small passage towards the forest. Now it goes uphill in switchbacks towards Eibetsberg and the Jauerling Plateau. Once at the top, we reach a farm road and keep left. After a few minutes, you can turn left and visit an old restored lime kiln. Back on the path, we continue along the farm road. We reach a crossroads. Here the Three Churches Path branches off towards Heiligenblut and the pilgrimage church of St. Andreas. We continue straight ahead. Mostly gently uphill, we follow the path until we reach the fields in front of the hamlet of Nonnersdorf. Here, we go right by a large tree, cross the country road, and reach the hamlet of Nonnersdorf. We do not enter the village (no place to eat) but immediately turn left again into the meadow and field landscape. After a few minutes, we enter the forest and shortly thereafter reach the Nonnersdorf Cross shrine. We continue straight ahead - here you can also turn left to Heiligenblut and the pilgrimage church of St. Andreas - and turn right after 150 m towards Maria Laach. On quiet paths and trails, we pass through the Jauerling Forest to the plateau in front of Maria Laach near the hamlet of Weinberg. We reach a paved road and follow it downhill to Maria Laach. We turn left at the first opportunity and then right again and reach the pilgrimage church of the Visitation of Mary.