Glashütten bei Schlaining

Glashütten bei Schlaining is a small hamlet in Burgenland, set among the forested slopes of the Kőszeg Mountains. The village lies beside a narrow road that forms part of a 19-kilometre paved bicycle path linking several nearby settlements. Twelve kilometres away is the town of Oberwart, while other stops on the route include Goberling, Unterkohlstätten and Holzschlag. The hamlet began in 1658 when Count Ádám Batthyány founded a glass factory there. The works became known for its yellow glass, coloured with sulphur, though it consumed vast amounts of firewood. From the 19th century the villagers also worked nearby antimony mines, along with pyrite, chalcopyrite and serpentinite. At the centre stands the Romanesque church of St Louis, built in 1816 and clad in asbestos in 1906. Originally part of Mariasdorf parish, it became the parish church in 1801. Three bells were added in 1961, and in 1977 the community raised funds and provided 160 days of unpaid labour to restore the building.