St. Gerold Priory

St. Gerold Provostship (Seminar Hotel and Vacation Accommodation)
Legend & History
The St. Gerold Provostship can look back on a rich and varied history spanning approximately 1,000 years. Over the centuries, the small monastery has survived arson, periods of material deprivation and decay, as well as expropriation.
However, through prudent management, initiative and innovative provosts have repeatedly increased and secured the monastery's material assets and also strengthened the provostship's spiritual aura, leading it to new prosperity.
Today, the St. Gerold Provostship is a pearl of Benedictine culture and hospitality, known and appreciated far beyond the region's borders.
Text / Source: St. Gerold Provostship, House Number 29, St. Gerold
propstei-stgerold.at/geschichte-legende

St. Gerold's Provostship / The Gerold Legend ...
...from 1484 tells that Emperor Otto I had particular trouble with one of his countrymen. It was the nobleman Adam. He was very wealthy and owned large landholdings in Feldkirch and Bludenz. But this wasn't the sole reason for disregarding his noble opponent. Otto was crowned king in Aachen on August 7, 936. Henry, his younger brother, rose up against him and wanted to challenge Otto's royal title. Adam was also involved in this conspiracy. He supported Henry and thus became the king's bitter adversary.Emperor Otto, for his part, made short work of his enemies. But as it turned out, this wasn't so easy with Adam. Adam escaped the king and was temporarily nowhere to be found. He went into solitude. Riding a donkey, he ventured into the then-deserted Friesental (now the Großes Walsertal). This was certainly not the most comfortable way to travel through this unexplored region.One day, Gerold received a special visit. A bear, pursued by wild hunters, sought refuge with him. When the hunters arrived at Gerold's, they could hardly believe their eyes. The hunted bear was lying peacefully at the hermit Gerold's feet. Even the hunting dogs had joined the party and were already waiting for the hunters. Incidentally, the delicious provost's liqueur, "Bear Comforter," commemorates this episode.The fact that the bearded hermit lived in harmony with creation, or rather, with nature, quickly spread. King Otto also noted this with great interest. The former conflict between Otto and Gerold was now resolved. The king forgave him, and the two made peace. Gerold also received back all his land holdings. Yet Gerold continued his life as a hermit and worked as a benefactor. "He remains where he is, and he remains what he is."
In 1684, Brother Fridolin Dumeisen from the Mariastein Monastery (CH) painted the legend of Gerold on ten large panels. This beautiful series of paintings can be seen at the Gerold Memorial.
Text / Source: Provostship of St. Gerold, House Number 29, St. Gerold
propstei-stgerold.at/geschichte-legende

The Saint Gerold, a Saxon nobleman, is said to have lived here as a hermit in the early Middle Ages and later bequeathed his possessions to Einsiedeln Abbey, to which the provost still belongs. Today St. Gerold is a church meeting place with a seminar and a cultural center in the region, after it almost threatened to decay in the middle of the 20th century. Since 2014, it has been redeveloped in several phases, and the offer has been expanded. Departure for another epoch of the millennial history of the monastery. For long-distance hikers a good place to stay and inspiring contact point. propstei-stgerold.at