Church of St. Oswald and the Eucharistic Miracle of Seefeld
Lake Chapel at the edge of Seefeld village. Photo by Justine Lowndes.
View of the picturesque town of Seefeld.
Painting of the miracle. Photo © Sagen.at.
Interior of the Church of St. Oswald. Photo © Sagen.at.
The town of Seefeld from a hotel window. Photo by Justine Lowndes.
Interactive satellite map of Seefeld. For a larger view,
see our Austria Map or Google Earth download.
The village of Seefeld in the Tirol region of western Austria is renowned as a fabulous ski resort, but it is the small parish church of Seefeld that brings the devout and miracle-seekers to the village year after year. It was here, in the 14th century, that an astonishing eucharistic miracle reportedly brought an arrogant knight to his knees.
History
On the night of Holy Thursday 1384, a knight named Oswald Milser attended Mass at the parish church in Seefeld. The guardian of a nearby castle, he was a man of exceeding arrogance and pride.
After Mass, the knight approached the high altar with his sword drawn, his head covered and surounded by a band of intimidating armed men, and demanded he be given the large host - the small host normally given to the congregation he regarded too ordinary for him.
The frightened priest handed him the host, and Milser remained standing as he took it. But as soon as he had the host in his mouth, the knight sank into the ground up to his knees. Pale as a ghost, he grasped the altar with both hands, leaving imprints that can still be seen. Filled with terror, the knight begged the priest to remove the host from his mouth.
As soon as the host was taken away, the ground became firm beneath him again. The humiliated knight rushed to the monastery of Stams, confessing and repenting his sin of arrogance. The velvet mantle he had worn on the night of the miracle was made into a chasuble and given to the Stams monastery.
In the remaining two years before his death, the knight continued to perform penance for his sacrilege. In accordance with his wishes, he was buried near the entrance of the chapel of the Blessed Sacrament.
Shortly after the miracle, a knight (perhaps Milser himself) donated a silver monstrance in which to enshrine the miraculous host. The site soon drew so many pilgrims that a hostel had to be built to accommodate them.
The small church was soon bursting at the seams as well, and in 1423 Duke Freidrich commissioned a larger church. In 1516, Emperor Maximilian I erected an adjoining abbey, which housed Augustinian monks until 1807, and Archdurke Ferdinand II of Tyrol later added the Chapel of the Holy Blood within the church.
In 1984, the parish church celebrated the 600th anniversary of the Eucharistic Miracle of Seefeld. Today, the parish church continues to be one of the most popular pilgrimage destinations related to a eucharistic miracle. Here, the faithful can renew and express their faith in Christ and his true presence in the Eucharist.
Thanks to its many endowments and enlargements from patrons over the years, the Parish Church of St. Oswald is considered one of the most important Gothic buildings in Tirol.
Inside the church, pilgrims and visitors can see the hole in the ground where the knight sank up to his knees, covered by a grate. A new altar has been built over the old one, but constructed so that the knight's handprints in the original stone altar can still be seen.
Near the high altar, marble steps lead up to the Chapel of the Holy Blood, which contains a monstrance holding the miraculous host. Nearby is an old book that gives an account of the miracle in many languages. Throughout the church's interior, frescoes and paintings depict the miraculous event, as well as scenes from the life of the Scottish martyr St. Oswald.
The Augustinian monastery built in 1516 is now the five-star Hotel Klosterbräu. Surrounded by the majestic mountains and lush countryside for which Tirol is famous, the village of Seefeld offers pilgrims and visitors an environment of beauty and tranquility. There are many hiking trails near the church.
Getting There
If you have a car, drive west from Innsbruck on Route 171, then continue north to Seefeld on Route 177. From Munich, drive south on the A95 to the resort town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, turn towards Mittenwald, then head south on Route 177 to Seefeld.
Seefeld is easily accessible by train. There are frequent daily departures from Innsbruck (a 40 minute journey) and Munich. The train ride from Innsbruck includes spectacular scenery.
There are about a dozen daily bus departures from Innsbruck's train station (a 45-minute journey).
| Address: | Dorfplatz, Seefeld, Austria (see Catholic Shrines of Austria map) |
| Location: | The church is at the center of the village of Seefeld, which is 15 miles north of Innsbruck. |
| Phone: | 05212/23-13 (tourist office) |
| E-mail: | info@seefeld.tirol.at |
| URL: | www.seefeld-tirol.at |
| Cost: | Free |
- Kevin J. Wright, Catholic Shrines of Central and Eastern Europe (1999), 56-60.
- Seefeld Church of St. Oswald - Walk Seefeld
More Information
- Seefeld Tourist Office
- Seefeld Tourism - TripAdvisor.com (includes hotel reviews and Seefeld travel forum)
- Seefeld Webcam
- John K Cartwright, The Catholic Shrines of Europe (1955)
- Clement J. McNaspy, Guide to Christian Europe (1984)
- Seefeld Hotels - Venere.com (includes photos, reviews and bookings)
- Roman Catholicism - ReligionFacts
