Kraftplatz "parish church St. Stefan"

St. Stefan-Afiesl, Oberösterreich, Österreich

Worth seeing is our church, which was built in 1147 and is one of the few examples of the transition from Gothic to Renaissance.

The origin story

The "Stefanstritt", 500 m from the town center, is the site of a famous legend - When the little church of St. Stefan was to be built, the builders agreed on a place on the Stefinger Bachl. They started working. The next morning, however, her work was destroyed. While they were rebuilding it during the day, it was destroyed at night. Then one day Saint Stephen appeared to the builders in the form of a carpenter. He asked them to build the little church wherever he hurled his hatchet. He took a carpenter's ax and hurled it high over the treetops. The carpenters followed the instructions. And so the church stands today in the place that St. Stephen had chosen. It was dedicated to him.

The deepening in the rock next to the old border mark is interpreted as a sign of this mystical phenomenon: it is said to be the imprint of the foot of St. Stephen. Since the devil could not prevent the construction of the church, he wanted at least to keep people from going to church at the "devil's seat" not far from the "stefan".