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Brother House

by Alexander Sohm last modified 2007-01-08 12:21

Directly on the path from Dalaas to the Kristberg, just before the crossing into Montafon there is a small chapel that is known to the locals as the Bruderhüsle or Brother House.  It was built as a tribute to the Forest Brother, Joss Erhard, who settled here around the year 1500 to live as a hermit.  Not far from the chapel which was built in the 19th century, there are the remains of walls which legend has it, are the ruins of the Forest Brother’s house.

The Klostertal museum society initiated an archaeological investigation of the wall remains in the years 2003 to 2006, because illegal grave robberies threatened to completely destroy the exhibit.  The findings of the scientific excavations were surprising in many ways.  This area was most likely a large complex which was made up of one building with a number of rooms and probably also had a foundation.  Surrounding outlines of other buildings in addition to other material found, such as fragments of bull’s eye panes as well as oven tiles, make it unlikely that this was a small hermit’s dwelling from the middle ages.

We can assume that the building complex which is now owned by the township of Dalaas had a strong connection to mining in the area.  Perhaps travellers going over the Kristberg also found accommodations here, since the crossing from Klostertal into the Silbertal was not to be underestimated during the middle ages or even in early modern times. 



Audiofile

P05-2 brother house.mp3
 


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