Schönanger Chapel

In the middle of the forest, at a prominent crossroads, stands the Schönanger Chapel - a quiet place of contemplation and a popular destination for hikers. The small chapel looks back on a long history and combines religious tradition with a traditional legend that still tells of its origins today.

Due to its design, the chapel wayside shrine can be stylistically assigned to the early to mid 19th century. The indicative sketch of the Franziska cadastre of 1826 shows that this site was exclusively woodland at the time. The chapel is not yet shown on this map, but this does not rule out the possibility that it may have already existed at this time. On a map of the k.u.k. Military Geographical Institute from 1873, the chapel already appears.

The field name "Schöner Anger" refers to a much older designation. Although the term "Anger" originally referred to a grassy pasture area, the chapel is now located in the middle of the forest. The name is presumably a reminder of an earlier clearing or pasture area that once characterized the landscape.

In the niche of the chapel wayside shrine there is a statue of St. Jude Thaddeus, an image of the Virgin Mary with a lily and depictions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. This makes the chapel a place of prayer and quiet contemplation to this day.

According to tradition, the construction of the Schönanger Chapel goes back to an incident on the Riener farm in Edt. After cattle had escaped and could not be found despite a long search, the animals were finally discovered in the place where the chapel now stands. The chapel is said to have been built there in gratitude for the lucky recovery.

The Schönanger Chapel was extensively renovated in 2020. A bench invites visitors to linger. An information board at the chapel also tells the legend of the origin of the Schönanger Chapel.