House of God and cultural monument
The beautifully designed pilgrimage church is open to people with their worries, requests and words of thanks. Those who wish to attend a service or pray quietly on their own can reach the church by car via Schönwies or on a walking path from Rifenal.
A visit to this little gem combines perfectly with the short climb to the castle ruins and a stop at Gasthof Kronburg.
Church services
Here you'll find the regular weekly service times at the idyllic Maria Hilf Pilgrimage Church at Klostergut Kronburg.
- Saturday and Sunday: 5:00 p.m.
- Fátima Day: on the 13th of each month, devotion at 2:00 p.m. followed by Holy Mass at 2:30 p.m.
Built out of gratitude
The history of the church
After the miraculous healing of his three-year-old son, who had pierced his eye with the tip of a knife, Hans Lechleitner – together with Johann Raimund Fieger of Kronburg – had a Maria Hilf image painted after Lucas Cranach and a chapel built in thanks.
The Maria Hilf Pilgrimage Church was built as a chapel in 1673 and, after numerous pilgrimage donations had been received, was extended between 1714 and 1717. The result was a baroque jewel, consecrated on September 28, 1719, by the Prince-Bishop of Brixen, Kaspar Ignaz von Künigl.
Between 1719 and 1723, the sacristy was built from the former chapel. The church also received a wooden tower, which no longer exists today. The present tower on the west side was only added later, in 1912, to the plain church with its three-sided apse.
Few pieces of the church's original furnishings survive – much was lost to the restorations of the 1880s.
© West Werbeagentur GmbH
© West Werbeagentur GmbH
© WEST Werbeagentur GmbH
A look inside: the Maria Hilf image on the high altar, a replica of the famous devotional image by the Renaissance artist Lucas Cranach, is the work of the Imst painter Johann Georg Witwer.
The main painting and a small wide-format painting above the altar also depict the Virgin Mary, by the Imst painter Josef Jais (between 1750 and 1760). The organ was built in 1893 by the Mayer brothers, a family of organ builders from Feldkirch.
Near the entrance portal are various votive offerings. Each piece tells a moving story – of wishes, hopes and prayers that have already been fulfilled.
