Schonbühel, which used to be a Servite convent, was started by a religious noble family that became Catholic in the 1600s. They wanted to make the same kind of rescue story that had happened in Israel, with Golgotha as the place where Christ was buried and an “underground Bethlehem” as the place where Jesus was born. 

.

.

People from all over came to the monastery to ask Saint Rosalia, the patron saint of the plague, for help or forgiveness. The monastery grew big and became famous as a pilgrimage place. Since Joseph II made changes to the church, fewer people went on pilgrimages. As a result, the monastery had to close in 1980 because there weren’t enough new members to keep it going. 

.

The original painting of “The Flight from Egypt” is worth seeing, especially the frescoes in the Peregrine chapel by the great Baroque painter Johann Bergl. Down the steps cut into the rock to the birth grotto with a picture of the birth of Christ that brings the event in Bethlehem back to life. A set of stairs goes down to the river. Sailors used to climb these stairs to get into the church and pray.