Maturing
Station 3: Eidenberg
Benedict's early attempts at leading a monastic community failed.
Meditation text to listen to
Meditation text for the journey
to Geng
When have I experienced failure in my life?
When have I discovered new experiences as a result of life's challenges?
Which failures in my life would I like God to support me with?
I can also experience both growth and decay, endings and new beginnings in nature. As I walk through the forest, I notice traces of past storms. I see that new, young plants are taking root on decaying wood. From bare ground, new life sprouts again. In my own life, too, things have not always passed smoothly. Problems, failures, and farewells trouble me. And yet, over time, situations can be transformed. New life grows. The musician Leonard Cohen sings: "There is a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in."
The close connection between this town in the Mühlviertel region and Wilhering Abbey is unmistakable. The abbey's imposing Meierhof, a four-winged complex, is now used as a parish office, parish hall, playgroup, apartments, offices and event hall. The current church was built when the Meierhof was rebuilt in the mid-18th century. The Rococo altar dates from this period, as does the late Baroque interior. The church has three patron saints and was originally designed as a pilgrimage church: the Flagellated Saviour of Wies, the Virgin Mary and St. Leonhard. The latter is entrusted with livestock, especially horses. In his honour, the Leonhardi Ride has been held in November since the 1950s. The organ, built in 1904 by Leopold Breinbauer, is considered particularly valuable. Incidentally, Breinbauer had his workshop in the former Wilheringer Spitalskirche in Ottensheim. Today, Eidenberg is a popular place to live with a very lively club culture. The best way to explore this extensive, hilly area is on foot. There are special stories associated with two chapels in Eidenberg. At the Wolfgang Chapel, there is a stone with strange indentations. These are said to have been created when St. Wolfgang took off his hat there during a rest. The Steingasser Chapel was built to help the souls of three miserly sisters find peace. According to legend, they had buried a treasure there that they did not want anyone else to have. As punishment, their souls, which wandered around as three lights, only found peace when a chapel was built on the site. No one has found the treasure to this day.
