Village hike St. Ulrich am Pillerse

The stream has it's source on the Tyrolean side of the Loferer Steinberge. It almost completely encircles the mountain range and forms the range's West and North borders. As a result, it changes name several times. The stream springs from the municipality of St. Ulrich am Pillersee on the Hochsäul (1,757 m) and flows in a south westerly direction through the Griseltal. In the traditional rural district of Flecken, the stream makes an abrupt turn and reaches the Pillersee after several kilometers. After “St. Adolari, the small pilgrimage chapel on the northern end of the lake, the stream passes the Öfenschlucht towards Waidring, changing its name in Haselbach and empties into the Saalach river in Lofer. Of the countless streams, that pour down from the mountain slopes into the valley, the Grieselbach has always been one of the most dangerous in the municipality of St. Ulrich. The first flood protection measures of the stream were put into place from as early as the year 1880. Throughout the years, the Heller and Hasling barriers were erected and raised time and time again. Due to the direct influence in the Pillersee, there is also, of course, a very large abundance of fish in the Grieselbach. Its banks invite you to relax and play in the mountain stream, especially in the wildly romantic area of the Grieseltal, located below the Loferer Steinberge.

The „Kneipp medicine“ or „Kneipp therapy“ is a treatment procedure named after the priest Sebastian Kneipp (1821–1897). It can be used as both a preventative treatment method and as a treatment for existing illnesses. After a leisurely hike around the Pillersee, or a extensive mountain tour in the Steinberge mountains, there is nothing more refreshing than a circuit in the Kneipp facilities. Here you can experience the mountain water in its most natural form. The area invites you to stay a while. Whilst here, you have a direct view of the parish church of St. Ulrich am Pillersee, of the Kalkstein massif and towards Schafelberg (1597 m) and Kirchberg (1678 m). The pine forests in this area are still used for the pine oil distillery company Mack today!

The lumpen wayside shrine was built in the 18th Century. According to oral tradition, a scourge of pests (scarab grubs) plagued the area. People called to their patron saint Ulrich and the holy Emperor Heinrich for help. And these calls for help were answered, as the catastrophe turned out to be smaller than feared. In 1984, the column was moved and renovated by the village's marksman - on the occasion of the 175 anniversary of the Tyrolean freedom fighter Andreas Hofer. The four niches were redesigned by the Fieberbrunn painter Robert Siorpaes and show the Blessed Mother and Child and the saints Ulrich, Emperor Heinrich and Johannes Nepomuk. The Heinrich column is the first station on the annual Corpus Christi procession.

This dwelling place recalls the tradition of the Tyrolean marksmen during the Tyrolean rebellion. The Pillersee marksmen were founded on 8th December 1982. In 1995, the marksmen erected this cross and the St. Ulricher woodcarver Bartl Wagstätter carved the wooden God. The inscription on the commemorative plaque on the stone says “Consecrated to the heart of Jesus as a legacy from our fathers and mission for our church”. The first concrete reference to the marksmen in St. Ulrich can be found in the church records from as early as 1671. Through a new source from Dr. Herwig Pirkl, the names of the Nuaracher Schützen are even known from the year 1676. It is interesting to note, that the vast majority of marksmen in St. Ulrich were equipped with their own muskets, unlike their comrades in other PillerseeTal communities. As part of the Pillersee contingent under the captains Simon Fiechter and Christian Blattl, countless St. Ulricher marksmen took part in the battles of the Tyrolean Rebellion of 1809. Particularly worth mentioning is the heroic defence of the Pass Strub at Waidring against a twentyfold superior force of Bavarian enemies. During these fights, in May 1809, the St. Ulricher farmer Thomas Schwenter “Peitingbauer” was captured. He died a few months later in Bavarian imprisonment in Munich. The second station of the annual Corpus Christi procession is located at this wooden cross.

The church of Saint Ulrich once belonged to the Rott am Inn monastery and is without a doubt the oldest church in the region. It was first mentioned in the year 1100. In around 1500, the original church was replaced by a late Gothic construction. Further renovation work, the majority in the Baroque style, followed over the centuries. The last major renovation was completed in 1970. The location in the north of the community may be surprising! St. Ulrich am Pillersee is a scattered village, which comprises of several hamlets on the right and left of the Pillerseestraße. The hamlet of Flecken, which impresses with its loving design, rural tradition and practised culture is located in the far south, closer to St. Jakob in Haus than the church of St. Ulrich. And that's exactly where, according to legend, the Parish church should have been built: The wood for the construction of the church came from the Eastern side of the Pillersee, where the so-called “Steinberg larches” grow - a quite special, good and hard type of larch wood. In the winter, the wood was cut down in the valley and pulled across the lake by a horse and cart. During these trips, there was a buzzing and crackling sound, which sounded like the lake was complaining and that the wood did not want to be taken away from its surroundings. The wood was brought to Flecken and processed for the construction of the church. The workers injured themselves frequently and to such an extent, that people believed, the Pillersee had bewitched the square and the wood. The construction work was terminated and later the church was rebuilt nearer to the Pillersee, in its current location, where the workers were able to complete the building with no complications. It was said, that when the lake saw its wood again, it was happy! In Flecken, they built a chapel, but only used wood from Flecken itself.