Ramsau Culture

Faith

Popular piety and spirituality

Many religious holidays and the agricultural cycle of the year are occasions for traditions that originated centuries ago and are kept alive. Religion and folk belief are also integral parts of social coexistence and omnipresent throughout the year. In addition to the well-known Parish Church of St. Sebastian, there are many other churches, chapels, and wayside shrines in Ramsau that are essential to the village's current landscape and have greatly influenced its history. An architectural gem from the late Baroque period, for example, is the Antonius Chapel on the western shore of Lake Hintersee. Built in honor of Saint Anthony of Padua, the filial church impresses with its elaborate ceiling and wall paintings, as well as its particularly idyllic lakeside location at the foot of the Hochkalter.

Wayside crosses, shrines, house chapels, wayside shrines, prayer pillars—they all bear witness to personal destinies as well as the faith and piety of past generations in Ramsau. In many cases, the distance to the parish church was too great, so people gathered at the nearby smaller chapels for communal prayer. Even today, the expressions of faith are cherished, adorned, and preserved by the next generations. Just after the Ramsau Tourist Information, one can admire the Mayeringer Chapel from the 18th century, which depicts the figures of Saint Mary Magdalene and the lying Christ in the tomb. The path of the 15 mysteries of the rosary, which leads past the Pletzer Chapel up the Calvary Hill and to the Kunterweg Church, also symbolizes the popular piety of earlier times.

According to the quote, ‘Many paths lead to God, one of them through the mountains’ (Dr. Reinhold Stecher), the unique landscape and mountain world continually inspire people in Ramsau to find peace, solace, and gratitude in communal prayer surrounded by nature. Solemn masses are celebrated on mountain peaks, long distances are covered in prayer during pilgrimages, and on special holidays the residents come together for a communal procession through the village. On Corpus Christi and Thanksgiving, the procession forms with the Blessed Sacrament under the canopy, figure bearers, associations, and all visitors.

In a solemn manner, they proceed after the high mass, accompanied by the Ramsau Music Band and the Weihnachtsschützen, passing festively decorated altars that have been lovingly set up, creating an impressive sight.