Saint Georgenberg Monastary

The Wolfsklamm, named after the wolves that inhabited it, is a dramatic trail that winds and climbs through a river gorge right outside of the village Stans to one of the oldest pilgrimage sites in Tyrol known as the Georgenberg Monastery. In an effort to squeeze in one last hike before the trails are covered in snow, we picked up the boys from school and headed about 25 min east of Innsbruck to see this geological marvel.

Unfortunately we arrived at the trailhead to find it closed for the season. Steep river gorges also mean ice and avalanches and we missed the opening by a week. But since we are becoming masters of managing disappointment and last minute change of plans, we just found any trail and started “vandering” in that general direction and we weren’t disappointed.

The random trail we managed to find was very steep and winding as it gained elevation and put us directly into the church yard of a small church called Maria Tax. To give it some comparison, it probably sat about 30 people if they really liked each other.

From there the trail wandered along what seemed to be an old cart path through the woods and was littered with the last of the fall leaves. Imagine Robin Hood, and you are close to what this felt like. One last turn along the trail opened us up to the most spectacular view of Geogenberg Monastery sitting on the edge of the rocks with the giant river gorge below and the Alps set as a backdrop. The approach to the monastery included crossing the the oldest bridge in Tyrol, a wooden covered bridge that dated back to 1497. Not only was the bridge 100s of feet above the bottom of the gorge, it was made of wood, completely covered, and was built on an uphill curve. It felt very much like the castle in Beauty in the Beast. Like a fairy tale.

This is not my photo but I couldn’t find who to give credit for it.

First, the alms built on the mountainside offering refreshment are astounding. But the churches that are perched on cliff edges whose approaches always include the stations of the cross for only the most dedicated of pilgrims and that were build by hand back in the early 18th century are a sight to behold. This was 100 years before the United States even became it’s own country! There is no description or photo that could ever do these places justice. There are just so many things to think about. How did they build it? How did they get there? What was it like to live so remotely so long ago? What did they eat? Were they afraid of being attacked by wolves in the gorge after night?

After refreshment in the very well established monastery restaurant, we headed back down to the village of Stans, climbing trees and watching the sky turn blue and the moon come out along the way.

#history #everydaylife #views #church #hiking #family