Schwarzenbichlkapelle

The Schwarzenbichlkapelle stands on a hill 1,245 metres above sea level, west of Seetal village in the market town of Tamsweg in Salzburg’s Lungau. The little chapel of Our Lady’s Name sits in the parish of Seetal, part of the Tamsweg deanery in the Archdiocese of Salzburg. It is protected by the Austrian heritage register.

The chapel was built in 1761 by Vicar Franz X. Radschin to give thanks after he escaped an attack by bandits. The hill itself formed from an ice-age moraine and marks the watershed on the old route from Tamsweg to Seetal. Each Trinity Saturday pilgrims walk from nearby Krakautal in Styria to reach the chapel. On 12 September, the feast of the Holy Name of Mary, a colourful procession leaves Seetal parish church and climbs to the hilltop shrine.

The chapel faces south and stands slightly above the road. The original 1761 building once held frescoes by Gregor Lederwasch. In 1901 it was enlarged in the neo-Gothic style. Inside, a copy of the Mariazell Madonna looks down on visitors. The surrounding grassy slopes and distant mountain ridges frame the small sanctuary.