Statue of Nepomuk, Boatmen's Chapel and Calvary Chapel

At the beginning of the stairs to Calvary, on a high pedestal, is the life-size marble statue of the St. Nepomuk. As the patron saint of boatmen and raftsmen and also as the patron saint of bridges, he was often "in use" during the time of salt shipping - after all, at that time the Salzach was still referred to as a "wild river". The aforementioned work by the Laufen sculptor Joseph Anton Pfaffinger from 1720 reflects the increased veneration of the water patron, who was canonised in 1729.

To the side of the stairs is the St. Christopher's or Shipman's Chapel, which was first mentioned at the end of the Altach in 1518. There was a custom that before each departure the skippers looked up at the chapel and drew a cross in the river with the oar blade: "Nahui - in Gott's Nam!" ("Downstream - in the name of God!") it was then said. ("Downstream - in the name of God!") was then said. When the chapel was rebuilt in 1858, it was stipulated that the boatmen had to pray three "Our Fathers" or go to the chapel for a prayer before every trip on the Salzach. On the day of St. Christopher (25 July), the patron saint of boatmen and carters, a mass was read every year. In 1978, the chapel was renovated for the 700th anniversary of the Schifferschützen Corps.

The staircase with 139 steps (originally there were 150, based on the 15 "mysteries" of the joyful, sorrowful and glorious rosary) leads to the crowning glory - the high, semi-circular and open-to-the-fronts Baroque Calvary Chapel. Inside the semicircle, on a rocky mound, Christ is depicted on the cross between the two shepherds and, below the cross, Mary with John.

Contact:
TVB Oberndorf near Salzburg
Silent Night Square 7
5110 Oberndorf near Salzburg
Tel.: +43 6272 6307
oberndorf@salzburger-seenland.at