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The "Bruderhüsli" is very closely linked to the history of Kristberg and the
St. Agatha chapel.
If you descend from the Kristberg saddle towards Dalaas you soon reach a small chapel
in the forest - the "Bruderhüsli".
This is where the forest friar Joss (Jodok) Erhard lived at the end of the 15th
century. As his wife, Anna, is also mentioned in a document, it is assumed that the hermit
(also called Frater) had given up matrimonial life with his wife's approval, in order to
serve God in solitude, thus following the example of friar Klaus from
Switzerland.
He build himself a hermitage and a chapel, dedicated to the Holy Ghost, on a wooded
elevation.
The forest friar lived in close contact with the miners who worked on either side of
the Kristberg saddle. An important route connecting Kristberg and the Klostertal passed
right by his hermitage.
This route kept its importance for the people of Silbertal and especially for the
population of Kristberg long after the mining days.
It is mentioned in a document that the Sexton of St. Agatha on Kristberg had been
commissioned by the community of Silbertal with the upkeep of this route. It only became
redundant after a road was built from the valley to Schruns in 1840.
So there was a lot going on around the hermitage of Joss Erhard. He was also sought out
for advice and help in times of illness and despair.
The hermit had a great influence on the religious lives of the miners. He was a
co-founder and main patron of the now-famous Trinity Fraternity on Kristberg.
This fraternity must have had a very large amount of members from all over the mining
district, because an inscription says that 400 people from this organisation alone died of
the plague about 350 years ago.
The above-mentioned fraternity was founded in 1493 on the Monday after Trinity Sunday.
By petition of Father Jodok Greber of Silberberg, Father Johann Spitzennagel of St.
Gallenkirch, Friar Jodok (Joss) Erhard and his wife Anna, as well as other citizens, the
fraternity was acknowledged by Bishop Heinrich of Chur on November 21, 1500.
In honour of this fraternity, 24 Roman cardinals made allowance of 100 days for
pilgrams of the "Capella St. Agatha of Kristberg" to visit its church for
repention and confession.
The St. Agatha church was granted its own chaplaincy in 1501 on the instigation of the
fraternity. The chaplaincy was under the control of the vicar of Silbertal. The chaplain
had the duty of reading mass once a week in the chapel of the Holy Ghost near the
hermitage of Joss Erhard.
Friar Joss Erhard from Dalaas, residing on Kristberg, states in his will, written in
1495:
He built - in honour of the Lord and Holy Mary and for the souls of those who went
before him and those that may come after him and of those who ever did anything good for
him - a "Capellin" and a "Hüsli" on Kristberg in the forest and he
wanted to stay there and serve God.
In his will, Erhard bequeaths all his goods, the contents of the "Capellin"
and his little house, to the "dear brethren of St. Agatha on Kristberg, called the
fraternity of the Holy Trinity", to use as they see fit.
The forest friar Joss Erhard seems not to have had any successors. The knowledge of the
accomplishments of this man has disappeared from the minds of the population of Silbertal
and Dalaas with the decline of mining in the area. The chapel and the hermitage became
victims of time. Nowadays, only the sad remains of the foundation can be found, and even
that is covered with moss and ferns.
Around 150 years ago, this will was found by a vicar of Silbertal and so moved was he
by the contents of it, that he had a chapel built near the original hermitage in memory of
the friar.
This chapel is colloquialy referred to as "The Bruderhüsli". The people of
the region have created their own legend surrounding it.
Footnote to the baptism
of still-born children
In the church of St. Jodok in Schruns, which was demolished in
1865, many still-borns were supposedly baptised under certain conditions. There were a
substantial amount of such baptisms between 1740 and 1780. Most of the children were also
buried in the cemetery of Schruns.
The death records of Silbertal reports that some still-borns were baptised in Schruns
in the 18th century. Children were brought from Tirol, Liechtenstein and
Allgäu to Schruns for this reason. Similar incidents to those in Schruns also occurred in
Serfaus in the upper Inn valley of the Tyrol.
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