Calvary

The Kalvarienberg Aigen rises on the northern slope of the Bohemian Forest above the market town of Aigen im Mühlkreis in Upper Austria. The hill, 685 metres high, takes its name from the hill of Calvary where Christ was crucified. A protected chapel and a series of Stations of the Cross stand on the slopes. It was commissioned in 1660 by Abbot Martin Greysing of Schlägl Abbey in Vorarlberg. The Stations of the Cross along the steep path date from the late 19th century, each a stone pillar with a bronze relief set into it. At the summit stands the open-sided Baroque round chapel with its wide overhanging conical roof, built in the mid-17th century. The wooden Crucifixion group carved by Johann Worath around 1650 shows Christ on the cross flanked by John and Mary. A latticed iron fence with pointed finials surrounds the chapel, added early in the 19th century. Beside the chapel a rock-cut grotto from about 1900 shelters a model of Christ’s tomb guarded by two tin soldiers. The slopes are covered with moss pine woods and rare exposures of mylonite from the Pfahl fault. The hill lies within the 9,350-hectare Bohemian Forest–Mühl valleys European protected area and forms part of the 22,302-hectare Important Bird Area of the Bohemian Forest and Mühl valley. The Ruperti trail, part of the European long-distance path E10, crosses the hilltop.