Kolomanistein

The Kolomanistein stands in the woods near Eisgarn in the Waldviertel region of Lower Austria. It is a pair of granite blocks, one on top of the other, about two and a half metres high. A shallow hollow on the flat top once held water where, according to legend, Saint Koloman bathed his feet. In 1713 Propst Franz Anton von Pallingen had a small stone shrine built over the hollow. The shrine has a curved gable and is reached by simple steps. Inside sits a stone figure of Saint Koloman carved in the early 18th century.

The site has long been a focus of Koloman worship. The counts of Hirschberg, early patrons of the cult, dedicated their castle chapel to the saint and gained the lordship of Litschau by marriage. Every year a procession once walked from Litschau to the Kolomanistein. From Eisgarn itself another procession is still held each 13 October. The stone’s fame rests on the story that Koloman was killed here in 1012.

Visitors today find the two granite blocks standing in a clearing. The shrine with its gable and steps sits directly above the hollow where the water once gathered. A path leads from Eisgarn to the site, and the annual procession route can still be traced across the fields. The quiet woodland setting and the small stone chapel together create a place of simple devotion.