St. Anna Church on Masenberg

Saint Anne is the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary - not attested in the biblical texts - but she is mentioned in apocryphal writings (i.e. not included in the canon of the Bible), for example in the so-called "Proto-Gospel of James". There is no historically reliable knowledge about Anna's life, but there are numerous traditional stories that are summarized, for example, in the medieval "Legenda Aurea" by the Dominican monk Jacobus de Voragine. Among other things, she is the patroness of Anna's Church in Düren (Germany, North Rhine-Westphalia), where a piece of her skull is kept as a relic. Her memorial day is - together with her husband Joachim - on July 26th.

The Filialkirche St. Anna is a Gothic church built in 1499 on the hill about halfway from Hartberg to Pöllauberg. The original structural substance and the equipment have undergone little change, which from today's perspective can be considered a stroke of luck.HistoryThe branch church St. Anna am Masenberg was first mentioned in a document in 1453. The then Hartberg pastor and provost of Wiener Neustadt dedicated a field "to the Newenstifft Sand Anna". Obviously St. Anna was already in the custody of the pastor of Hartberg at this time. The foundation probably goes back to one of the owners of Neuberg. As early as the 2nd half of the 12th century, parts of the Annenkogel were cleared and colonized and the St. Anna church stands on former Neuberger land. The Neuberg landlords were bailiffs of this church until the 19th century and as such had to monitor the church building and the church property.Source: katholische-kirche-steiermark.at/pfarre/6183/pfarre/bauwerke/gallery/1150.html

A wonderful little church on the mountain .. The view from the Pöllauer and Safental to the Riegersburg is breathtaking. Very popular for weddings and christenings.