Ortskapelle Schagges

The Ortskapelle Schagges is a small Roman Catholic chapel standing on higher ground at the southern edge of Schagges village in the municipality of Unserfrau-Altweitra. It belongs to the Gmünd district in Lower Austria and sits within the Diocese of St Pölten. The building is dedicated to the Fourteen Holy Helpers and has been listed as a protected monument. The chapel was commissioned in 1756–57 by Franz Josef Keuffel Ritter von Ullenberg, who served as steward of the Weitra estate. Its design is simple yet elegant, with two barrel-vaulted bays, a semicircular apse and a steep roof topped by a small bell tower capped with an onion dome. The west front features a curved gable and a niche holding a statue, above a stone doorway bearing the founder’s coat of arms and the date 1896. Inside, the ceiling is divided into sections by ribs resting on pilasters adorned with delicate stucco work. Inside, visitors see a Baroque high altar from 1691 showing the Fourteen Holy Helpers, flanked by carved figures of Saints Leonhard and Florian. Nearby stand 18th-century wooden statues of Saints Joachim and Scholastika. The whole interior is lit by tall, flat-arched windows set in thick walls. The chapel’s quiet position above the village offers a peaceful view over the surrounding countryside.