Chapel circular route Flirsch
On religious paths
This circular route leads past numerous chapels and offers wonderful views of Flirsch and the Stanzertal.
Starting from the parish church, with the funerary chapel (1), the path leads approx. 400 metres north to the bridge over the Mühlbach to the Lourdes grotto, and the Lourdes chapel directly above (2). The route continues via the districts of Mairhof and Schneckenbach to Schöpf. From here you can go via Riedlen to the Antonius Chapel (3) in Wolfen, then down into the valley to the Grube district to the Herz-Jesu-Kapelle (4) and back to the parish church.
First mentioned in historical records in 1385, it has a memorial chapel and a war memorial. The Chapel of the Dead owes its existence (1837 to 1840) to the Flirsch farmer and travelling merchant, Nikolaus Zangerl. For decades, remnants of the abandoned Marian monastery in Vinschgau were housed here, including the Virgin Mary, which now adorns the high altar. The chapel was renovated in 1970 with the help of the State Monuments Office.
Starting from the parish church of Flirsch, you can reach the listed Lourdes grotto and, exactly above it on the wooded slope, the Lourdes chapel, consecrated in 1898, in around 15 minutes. It owes its creation to the Flirsch pastor, Martin Fuchs. The simple prayer room houses a life-size statue of the Virgin Mary. On the mountain side are the two statues of the Heart of Jesus and St. Joseph in arched niches. The natural grotto shows a statue of the Virgin Mary made of Lasa marble by the Zammer stone sculptor, Josef Zangerl (1852-1901).
The chapel was built in 1718 and is the oldest chapel in the municipality of Flirsch. The baroque chapel houses a very ornate baroque altar, which has as its central image a ‘Maria-Hilf-Madonna’, by Lucas Cranach, on a cloud surrounded by angels, with St. Joseph on the left, and St. Antonius on the right. The chapel also has an oil painting depicting the Madonna with sleeping child, which is always exhibited in May. This private chapel of the farmers of Wolfen and Bermen is definitely worth a visit.
Shortly after the chapel was built in 1837, a mudslide buried it. At that time it was still called the Maria-Hilf-Kapelle. A thorough restoration was carried out in 1907, but during road construction to the Flirscher Berghöfe, the, by then, rather dilapidated chapel was demolished in 1970. It was completely rebuilt in 1985, and is now privately owned by three farmers in Marienbichl.
