Filialkirche Schöneben

The small Roman Catholic church in Schöneben stands in the Upper Austrian village near the Czech border, dedicated to Mary fleeing to Egypt. It belongs to the parish of Ulrichsberg in the Diocese of Linz. Locals once walked long distances to churches in nearby Czech Glöckelberg before the border closed after 1945.

The building was raised between 1960 and 1961 with funds from local people, expelled residents of the Bohemian Forest and others. Gottfried Nobl, master builder of Linz Cathedral, designed and constructed it. A memorial with an iron cross now stands between the church and the road, honouring those who died as Bohemian Forest expellees. Dechant Josef Lorenz initiated the church after earlier services were held in the village school by Pfarrer Evermond Groß.

Inside, visitors find a simple nave with plain furnishings and a small altar. The memorial outside carries names and a large iron cross set in stone. The surrounding village sits in a quiet upland landscape close to the frontier, offering peaceful walks.