Reflection Trail. Absam – Gnadenwald
The Contemplative Trail from Absam to Gnadenwald – St. Martin offers an opportunity to explore this longing away from the hustle and bustle, through mindful walking and observing, and through mindful listening, smelling and feeling. St Martin’s Monastery is one of the places of spiritual power in the Hall-Wattens region: a place steeped in history within the Karwendel Nature Park, which has much more to offer than just peace and relaxation.
For many people today, the search for spiritual inspiration in their lives has become a matter of survival. Our everyday lives make it difficult to find silence and to listen to our own souls. This reality awakens a longing for “more” in many people and often leads them to realise that it is time to set out and seek new paths.
To the north of the Walderbrücke inn in Absam, the 50-minute Contemplation Trail leads towards Gnadenwald: from the Walder Chapel to St Martin’s Monastery.
The nine stations along the trail are designed to draw attention to the unassuming and the taken-for-granted – things we usually rush past in the hustle and bustle of everyday life. The stations encourage walkers to turn their attention inwards – towards their own hopes and fears, small joys and disappointments, questions and doubts. The walker treads the Contemplation Trail with an open mind, experiencing wonderful moments of reflection and also realising that the “Beatitudes” occur right in the midst of everyday life. It is a place where heaven and earth meet. At the end of the trail lies the stone labyrinth at St Martin’s Monastery in Gnadenwald, the trail’s final destination and a place of exceptional tranquillity.
+2The stone labyrinth in St Martin
OASIS OF PEACE AND ART
Labyrinths have been found in many cultures for more than 5,000 years, shaped by the need for inner peace and a sense of home. This is a Cretan or classical labyrinth.
Labyrinths are regarded as a symbol of the human journey through life: finding one’s own centre and the path back to one’s roots, right through to the end and the new beginning of life.
The ceramic and concrete sculpture at the centre symbolises the fundamental principles of life: sharing (love) and respect for nature (unity); the monastery’s two saints, Martin and Francis, symbolise these values.
The ceramic hemispheres within the labyrinth suggest the individual variations of the path. We invite you to pause and reflect on the ‘path of life’.
We wish those walking the Contemplation Trail open senses, moments of reflection and the realisation that the “Beatitudes” unfold right in the midst of our everyday lives. It is the place where heaven and earth meet.
