II.2.1 Hamlet Hutstein

II.2.1 Hamlet Hutstein

Impressions of the hamlet Hutstein in Upper Austria, close to the bavarian border:

 

Upper 4 granges: hamlet Hutstein, parish of Pfarrkirchen im Mühlkreis, Upper Austria. In front: Vatersreith. The ‘Hutstein’ rock is located in the upper left forest, the `Holzstein` rock in the right one.

 

Hutstein as seen by Google Earth

 

Hutstein seen from Wegscheid

 

The hamlet Hutstein
hamlet Hutstein: in the forest to the left there is the Holzstein hidden inside

Gate column – Gattersäule

a gate column

Gate column
Approximately 1 m high stone column with a round hole on the old path from Osterwasser to Hutstein.
The gate columns that can still be found in some places in the Mühlviertel have historical significance as demarcations of property, probably introduced by Emperor Joseph II, but also as a magical defence, to be sacrificed to the storm or to avert its dangers. They are stone pillars with a round or square hole in which a wooden gate could be attached. According to old folk beliefs, they were not allowed to be moved because the poor souls who would be hurt lived under the stone.
(Source: Otto Milfait, Elvira Landgraf “The Mühlviertel Language, Customs and Sayings”. And again soul, magic…)

A plague column

Cross column

On the road to Hutstein, at Vatersreith 13 (Hubert Krenn), there is a stone column with a pointed arch niche and a Passau cross (double cross beam) next to a cast iron cross.

There is a picture of St. Florian in the picture niche. The year 1714 is carved on the base of the column. It is probably a plague column from this time.

a plague column at Hutstein from 1714