Easy hikes and walks around Haunoldstein

Beautiful single trail along the Pielach

The Marienkapelle in Hafnerbach consisted of a main room, a choir, an anteroom with entrance hall and gallery, and a two-storey gallery staircase that was added later. Its architectural models can be found in the Lower Austrian religious buildings of the first half of the 18th century. The elaborate chapel type indicates an important patron - Crescentia Countess of Montecassino (1705–1788). The chapel's inventory included an altar, two pictures and twelve chairs. The building was demolished in 1792, but the foundations were preserved. This was done not least as a lasting reminder of the church reform measures under Emperor Joseph II on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the diocese.

The Hafnerbach parish church, dedicated to Saint Zeno, is located in the market town of Hafnerbach. It was first mentioned in a document in 1248, when it was a branch church of St. Pölten. In 1260 it was elevated to an independent parish. The architecture of the church combines various styles. The choir is Gothic and has a cross-ribbed vault, while the nave is Baroque with a mirrored ceiling. Particularly noteworthy are the artistic stucco work from 1698 and the ceiling frescoes, which show scenes from the life of Saint Zeno.

In 1248 the church was mentioned in documents as a branch of St. Pölten and in 1260 it was elevated to a parish church. In 1361 the church became a sovereign church through an exchange. In 1529 the Turks caused damage. In 1633 the church belonged to the Hohenegg lordship. Since 1675 the church has served as the burial place of the Lords of Hohenegg and since 1845 as the burial place of the Montecuccoli family. The Romanesque church from the 13th century with a nave and choir has a sacristy added to the southwest of the choir, which was probably originally a separate building (as a charnel house or round church with an apse) on a horseshoe-shaped floor plan. The tower in the north was built around 1400. After the side entrances to the nave were bricked up, a vestibule was added to the tower around 1600, which today serves as the entrance to the organ gallery. The sacristy with oratory northeast of the choir was added at the end of the 17th century.

1747 "a chapel of Our Lady was built in Krumpenfurt" (parish chronicle) 1786 Desecration on the orders of Joseph II. 1792 Demolition and sale of building materials and inventory

Sitzenthal Castle is a 16th-century castle building that was rebuilt and modernized by Count Ledochowska in the 19th century. On the upper floor, the castle has a colonnaded hall and rooms with ridge vaults, historical furniture and valuable paintings. Currently privately owned and therefore not accessible. Since then, the castle has been a fief of Melk Abbey and belonged to Count Ludwig Starhemberg, who was outlawed in 1619. In the 20th century, Sitzenthal came to the Barons Hammerstein-Equord. The poet and politician Hans Hammerstein-Equord (d. 1947), who was born here in the castle, was Austrian Federal Minister of Justice in 1936 and a prisoner in the Mauthausen concentration camp after 1938. More about the story: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schloss_Sitzenthal

Very nice single trail - easy to ride

One of the typical small monuments that the Dunkelsteinerwald tour passes.