Dorfkapelle Mötlas

The chapel was built in the "Steinbloß style", a typical architectural style of old three-sided farmsteads and other rural buildings, such as chapels, in the Mühlviertel - the core area is the lower Mühlviertel.
The buildings are constructed from granite field stones , the larger stones were left unplastered, giving the façades the typical appearance of light and dark areas.
The reason for this construction method was that lime was scarce and expensive in this region, so the farmers inserted larger stones into the masonry and did not plaster them.

(Source: Wikipedia)

In this chapel, the villagers pray the Stations of the Cross every Sunday and public holiday afternoon throughout the summer and every day in May.

Pastor Franz Schmid drew up the plan for the Marienkapelle chapel in Mötlas. It was consecrated on 15 August 1868. The chapel also has a bell, which is rung three times a day for the English salute.

The pictures of the Stations of the Cross, including the frame and cross, are based on a design by Professor Klein from Vienna and were purchased from the Catholic Book Society in Salzburg. This Way of the Cross was provided with all indulgences and consecrated on 4 May 1886 by the Franciscan priest Balthasar Krug from Enns.
In 1890, the chapel received a new bell weighing approx. 70kg.
In 1901 it received a beautiful altar from master carpenter Weiss in Liebenau. The main figure is the Queen of Heaven with the infant Jesus, surrounded
surrounded by the figures of Mater Dolorosa and Ecce Homo.

On 8 August 1937, the Mötlas fire brigade celebrated its 25th anniversary. To mark the occasion, the residents wanted to have a Holy Mass in their village chapel and obtained permission from the bishop to celebrate an annual Holy Mass there. Professor of religion Bonifaz Schmalzer, who himself was born in Mötlas, held the mass. He was very attached to this chapel because his mother had prayed in it a lot at the time.

On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the inauguration of the chapel, Msgr Bonifaz Schmalzer celebrated a mass on 15 August 1968 at 3.30 pm.

In the summer of 1976, the tower was re-roofed with copper sheeting.

It was renovated between 1992 and 1994.

Source: Local history book Unterweißenbach page 26