Churches and monasteries - Gnadenwald

The ancient settlement of Wald - in 1680 its name was changed to Gnadenwald - was from very early times not just home to the Martinskirchlein im Ausserwald but also the centrally located Michaelkirchlein … It was first mentioned in documents in 1337, but it is thought to date from about 300 years earlier.
The tower and the immediate area still show signs of residual Gothic, similarly the long, narrow church windows. Ceiling frescoes by Johann Anton Kirchebner, 1730. In 1825 the church was again considered to be too small and was extended, so it is now rather too long in relation to its width.

A hunting lodge with a chapel dedicated to St Martin is said to have stood on this spot as early as the 11th century. The first mention in documents was 1337. Later a hermitage was built where two "Forest Brethren" lived. In 1499, the nun Magdalena Götzner from Hall and her daughter, built a new convent. Since 1935, the Franciscan Tertiary Sisters from Hall have lived in the long-deserted "cells", running a boarding house they have owned since 1939. St Martin was restored in 1950 and again in 1957.

Built between 1965 and 1967 on the eastern slopes above the Walderalm is a chapel built by soldiers wishing to thank the Lord for surviving World War II and their safe return home. It was consecrated in the name of "Maria Schutz" or Mary the Protector.

The chapel may be visited.