The best walks and hikes around Weitersfeld

Field sanctuaries, wayside shrines, crosses or wayside shrines were not only donated and erected for a specific occasion. In ancient times, they also served as signposts in the open countryside. But they were also a visible plea to God during the lifetime of the donors to take special care of the soul in case of death. For example, the Retz chimney sweep Majonelli donated a Calvary. In a contract dated September 15, 1726, he commissioned the Eggenburg sculptor Jakob Seer to create a crucifixion scene. Beyond the contract, Mary and John were created for the crucifixion group.

The Retz Military Cemetery was established in 1978 by the relocation service of the Volksbund from the districts of Hollabrunn, Mistelbach, and Korneuburg. The burial ground blends harmoniously into the surrounding landscape. The cemetery was consecrated on September 30, 1979. A natural path, accompanied by low-lying flora, leads through an opening in the bounding stone wall to the grounds of the burial site. A granite cobblestone path leads past the high cross to the lower-lying graveyard, interspersed with groups of birch trees. Natural stone crosses made of Waldviertel granite mark the graves of those resting here. The cemetery was handed over to the care of the Austrian Federal Ministry of the Interior as of January 1, 2011.

The Kümmerl Chapel stands on a country lane that intersects Windmühlgasse on the outskirts of town. It was built in 1896 by master mason Christian Lehninger from Obernalb and faces west. Inscription: 'This chapel was donated in 1896 by Johann Heinrich Maschek and his brother Paulus, both priests. Johann Heinrich Maschek, OSB, was born in Retz in 1832 and celebrated his first Mass in 1858. He was a professor of Greek and Latin at the Schottengymnasium in Vienna. Heinrich died in 1916. Paul Maschek was a secular priest and parish priest in Senning from 1843 to 1930.'

Crucifixes – that is, wayside crosses, field crosses, or crosses depicting the crucified Christ – can be found not only in villages and towns or in nature, but also in literature. Perhaps the most famous crucifix of this type can be found in the work of Giovanni Guareschi (1908 to 1968). He is the spiritual father of the humorous stories about the two protagonists 'Don Camillo' and 'Peppone'. Guareschi incorporated another main character into his stories – known and popular far beyond Italy's borders –: the crucified Christ, who speaks to Don Camillo from the crucifix on the high altar. The author himself makes the following comment: "So one must explain: If the priests feel offended by Don Camillo, they can smash a candlestick on my skull for all I care; if the communists feel offended by Peppone, they can break a club on my back; but if someone feels offended by Christ's speeches, there's nothing one can do. Whoever speaks in my stories... is my Christ, that is, the voice of my conscience. My personal business, my cause. And therefore: each for himself, and God for all." (G. Guareschi)

"But perhaps the time is not yet ripe for it (...) so that one day they do not bring misfortune on each other and their peoples. And if they should do so anyway, may the good Lord in his counsel provide that at least afterwards, when the misfortune has already been done to them all, they will find their way to each other and make peace in this world once and for all." writes Otfried Preußler (he preferred to describe himself as a storyteller) in "The Flight to Egypt. Royal Bohemian Part". Although these lines originally refer to the German and Czech inhabitants of the Kingdom of Bohemia, which formerly belonged to the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, their statement is actually both timeless and universal.

Wonderful view when you climb the 112 steps with 15 landings to the observation platform of the Europawarte.

The Calvary of Retz shows the suffering and crucifixion of Jesus in various stations of the cross. A contract dated September 15, 1726 obliged Jakob Seer[2], who came from Eggenburg, to complete the crucifixion group, consisting of Jesus Christ, the two thieves, Saint Magdalene, Mary and John, by the beginning of Lent in 1727. It is not known who created the other groups, but they are probably also by Jakob Seer.

To this day, many have not learned anything 🤨.