The Haslach Chapel is not a building that has quietly slumbered through the centuries. It has been altered, expanded, destroyed, rebuilt, renovated, and completely restored—and yet, or perhaps precisely because of this, it still stands today as the vibrant heart of the village.
Even before the current chapel, there was an older one—as reported in the archives of Göttweig Abbey. When it fell into disrepair, it was decided in 1769 to build a new one. It was completed in 1777. Less than a hundred years later, in 1874, the chapel and its tower burned to the ground, only to be rebuilt and consecrated that very same year. There was no hesitant waiting, no giving up—the village wanted its chapel back.
Renovations followed in 1967 and 1987. Finally, in 2000, a complete renovation of the interior and exterior took place, including the drying out of the entire masonry. The crowning touch was the blessing of the new tower cross on October 14, 2001—yet another new beginning, yet another sign of perseverance.
The altar remains, with its curved stone table, the black-framed wooden superstructure, and the gilded details. At its center is a copy of the “Miraculous Image of Maria Hilf” by Lucas Cranach the Elder—one of the most widely distributed images of the Virgin Mary in the Western world—set in a golden frame. Above it is a Trinity group, flanked by the three patron saints against the plague: Saint Rosalia, Saint Sebastian, and Saint Roch.
And one more thing has remained: the regular devotions. Holy Mass has been celebrated here weekly since 1996. During Lent, there is a Stations of the Cross devotion on Sundays, and in May, a Marian devotion. The chapel is not just a sight to be viewed through glass—it is alive.