Prelates' hike

Description:
The "Prälatensteig" leads from the market town office up the stairs to the market church, which can be visited during the day. Over the cemetery to the street and further uphill until shortly before the edge of town. The path branches left between the houses and leads along garden fences to the mill brook. At the height of Engelszell Abbey, it goes right into the cloister forest and on to the "Hazel Dormouse" hut, which somehow recalls the fairy tale of "Hansel" and "Gretel". The path continues through the forest to the "Rushing Brook". From here it goes down to the "former" hammer mill. Along the federal road, it goes left along the forest edge to Engelszell Abbey and back to the market town office.Directions:

THE HAZEL DORMOUSE STORY

In 1955, a violent storm tore a wide swathe through this romantically situated part of the cloister forest near Engelszell Abbey.

While processing the wood, the hunter and amateur carpenter Friedrich Bernhofer (born 1920) had the idea, together with his son Friedi (born 1951), to build a small hut here for resting, snacking, and as shelter in bad weather. With much love and skill, a small hut made from the wood of hazel shrubs was created.

By chance, during the "construction work", hazel dormice repeatedly appeared. The cute, brownish creatures with a long, bushy tail, resembling a squirrel in miniature, proved to be very tame. Since they showed no fear of humans, Friedi later took a hazel dormouse home and also to elementary school, where it was admired with enthusiasm by his classmates. After a "short vacation" with the Bernhofer family, the little forest dweller was returned to its original environment in the forest of the Trappist monks.

THE NEWLY BUILT HUT WAS NAMED AFTER THIS SMALL RODENT AND HAS SINCE BEEN CALLED THE "HAZEL DORMOUSE". IT THEN BECAME A POPULAR HIKING DESTINATION FOR THE PEOPLE OF ENGELHARTSZELL AND THE MANY SO-CALLED SUMMER GUESTS.

Not only next to the hut but also inside the small hut itself, hikers found a table with two benches for snacking and resting. Sometimes a monk from Engelszell Abbey probably also took a break here, as he regularly had to walk the path to the monastery's power plant at the nearby brook in the village of Saag by day and night to manually operate various switches, which have long since been carried out automatically.

The fact that the "Hazel Dormouse" was frequently visited was evidenced by a guestbook with many entries. Opposite the hut, a painting of Mary by academic painter Käthe Herrmann-Bernhofer was attached to a tree directly beside the hiking trail, showing the Mother of God among forest animals. This original painting, the hut, and the benches were one day completely destroyed by unknown persons and thrown into the adjoining spruce forest.

Later, the forest owner, Engelszell Abbey, rebuilt a new hut at this spot, which had become very dilapidated over the years. Only through the initiative of private individuals and the association "Culture & Tourism on the Danube" could, in agreement with the Abbey, a renovation phase of the "Hazel Dormouse" and the hiking trail be completed in 2021 under the leadership of the very committed trail patron Gertrud Schneider.

Tip:
The "Prelate" is a dignitary in the Christian church. The Trappists of Engelszell Abbey, the only Trappist monastery in Austria, gave the hiking trail its name. Trappist beers and monastery liqueurs are available for purchase in the monastery shop!Equipment:
normal hiking equipmentAdditional information:
www.stift-engelszell.at