Annakapelle

The Annakapelle stands in the northern part of Dorfgastein, a village in the Salzburg countryside. It is a small rectangular chapel with a rounded apse and a wooden-shingle roof. The building has been protected as a historic monument since it was listed. The chapel dates from 1635 and may have been built to mark the terrible plague that year, when 127 of the village’s 187 people died. After the Second World War it became a place of prayer for returning soldiers. In the 1950s local artist Willi Stock restored the building under Mayor Alfons Gruber. Inside, a wooden canopy from the 18th century shelters an oil painting of Saint Anne, measuring 58 by 30 centimetres and painted by Anton Posch. The chapel is the only one owned by the parish; all others in the area belong to private owners. Its simple interior and peaceful setting make it a quiet place to pause.