Kloster Gauenstein in Schruns

Gauenstein’s first known religious identity was eremitic. Around 1701, a hermit from the Salzburg region established a cell on the wooded height above Schruns. The location offered precisely what an eremitic life sought: separation from the settlement, access to nature and enough proximity to local communities for limited contact and support.

The early hermitage was not static. Frater Dismas, remembered as the most important of the hermits, completed the small church, built an additional cell and laid out a garden. The church was consecrated on 25 July 1721 in honour of the Sorrowful Mother. This dedication continues to shape the spiritual identity of the site.

Hermits remained for roughly 120 years. The final one died in 1821. Their period left no large monastic institution, but it established the pattern that later communities repeatedly renewed: Gauenstein as a place of prayer above the valley rather than a purely administrative religious centre.

The garden tradition also began during the hermit period. Today’s public monastic garden is obviously shaped by later generations, but the fact that a garden formed part of Gauenstein from its early history gives the present visitor experience deeper continuity.

Travellers should therefore avoid describing the site’s history as beginning with the Capuchins. The Capuchin monastery was the largest institutional phase, but it grew from an older landscape of solitude and devotional practice.

After the last hermit died, the municipality acquired the property and later sold it to members of the Tschol family. Johann Fidel Tschol and his wife transferred the hermitage to the Capuchins as a hospice. The Capuchins became owners in June 1843 and moved into the enlarged complex in September.

Father Kasimir of Altenstadt became the formative builder of the Capuchin period. The Sisters’ chronicle says later memory described him as the person who made Gauenstein what it is. He demolished the old hermitage buildings, constructed the present hospice structure and built a new church.

The church was consecrated on 14 June 1851. Montafon’s description treats the present church as a replacement for the earlier hermit chapel. A later wing was added in 1928, further expansion followed in the 1960s, and the church underwent a comprehensive renovation in 1995–1996.

The Capuchin monastery became a place people visited not only for formal worship but for spiritual help, conversation and the beauty of its setting. This pastoral openness remained one of the strongest characteristics carried into the later Sisters of St. Clare era.

The Capuchin period lasted nearly 180 years. That longevity explains why many residents still refer to Gauenstein as the Kapuzinerkloster even though the active community has changed. A current visitor page should preserve that historical name but use the present identity accurately.

In 1983 three women moved into Gauenstein’s summer wing to experiment with a new form of contemplative life. Their aim was to live simply, with fewer inherited institutional burdens, while remaining open to people seeking spiritual depth. The community later became known as the Sisters of St. Clare.

The experiment grew more quickly than expected. New women joined, and Gauenstein eventually became too small for both Capuchins and sisters. In 1995 the sisters ended the branch and moved to other houses. Yet Gauenstein remained foundational in their community memory. Their own timeline identifies it as the place where the experiment began.

The situation changed when the last Capuchin, Brother Engelbert Bacher, prepared to leave. In 2021 the monastery returned to the parish-related endowment under the original foundation arrangement, and the Sisters of St. Clare were invited back. Two sisters moved in on 17 April 2021, followed by further community development.

Today the Gauenstein convent is one of three principal houses of the community, together with Bregenz and Buchenstock. The sisters describe their life as shaped by prayer, silence, work and fraternity in the spirit of St. Clare and St. Francis. The monastery is therefore not managed as a heritage attraction by an external operator; the people caring for it live the religious tradition themselves.

This living continuity is the most important interpretive point. Visitors are not entering a former Capuchin museum. They are guests around a functioning contemplative community whose history includes hermits and Capuchins but whose current rhythm belongs to the Sisters of St. Clare.

The Sisters describe the church as a frequently visited place for quiet, personal prayer and lighting memorial candles. That invitation sets a different tone from a tourism attraction with a defined visitor circuit. People may come without joining a formal service simply to sit in silence.

The community also opens its prayer rhythm to outsiders. Across all houses, daily Eucharistic adoration from 17:00 to 18:00 forms a shared contemplative hour. In Gauenstein, historical and current programmes also include Saturday worship, monthly contemplative evenings and other spiritual events.

The 2026 calendar shows regular contemplative laying-on-of-hands sessions in the church, including a session on 25 September from 15:00 to 17:00. Such events are invitations to prayer and blessing, not demonstrations staged for tourists. People attending should follow the organisers’ spiritual and practical guidance.

The church can also host baptisms, weddings and other outside celebrations. The sisters explicitly note that it is used for different ceremonies. These events can change casual access, another reason not to publish invented daily church hours where none are given.

Visitors who come only to look at architecture should still match the atmosphere. Quiet speech, limited photography and respect for people praying are essential. A monastery church gains meaning from the use that continues inside it, not only from historical dates.

The large monastic garden is one of Gauenstein’s defining visitor features. The Sisters keep most of it open to the public while reserving a separate section for the community. This arrangement expresses the monastery’s wider principle: hospitality without erasing the boundary of contemplative life.

Summer garden hours are Tuesday through Sunday from 09:00 to 12:00 and 14:00 to 19:00. In winter the schedule becomes Tuesday through Sunday from 09:00 to 17:00. Monday is closed. These are garden hours, not a claim that every monastery room is open at the same times.

The garden continues a tradition that reaches back to the hermit Frater Dismas, who already cultivated the site in the eighteenth century. Later Capuchins and the present sisters continued to shape the space. Flowers, vegetables and views toward the Montafon mountains combine practical cultivation with contemplation.

Visitors should remain within public paths and respect signs marking private community areas. The garden is not a municipal park where every corner is open. Its beauty depends partly on the fact that it remains attached to a working monastery.

Time in the garden pairs naturally with the church. A short visit can move from quiet interior to open mountain view without requiring a formal guided tour. This combination is one reason Gauenstein works well for travellers who value slower cultural experiences.

Gauenstein is more than a day-visitor site. The Sisters maintain guest rooms for people who want days of silence, individual retreats or participation in monastic prayer. Men and women can arrange shorter or longer stays depending on the programme and the needs discussed with the community.

The guest model is intentionally personal. A preliminary conversation helps clarify whether someone wants quiet self-directed days, guided spiritual exercises or a period of living closer to the community rhythm. A guest kitchen supports self-catering, and meals with the community may be possible by arrangement.

Spiritual accompaniment is also available. The Sisters present this as a listening and discernment practice rather than a tourism service. People may come during transitions, decisions or periods of personal reflection. This makes Gauenstein relevant to a different kind of traveller than someone simply collecting sights.

The private residential areas remain cloistered. A guest stay therefore does not mean unrestricted access to the monastery. Hospitality and enclosure coexist through clear boundaries, and visitors should follow them without treating private space as something hidden for curiosity.

For ordinary day visitors, knowing that retreats occur on site should encourage quieter behaviour. Someone sitting in the garden may be in a period of deliberate silence. The monastery’s public openness works only when visitors respect the atmosphere required by residents and retreat guests.

The official Sisters’ directions make public transport simple. Take the Montafonerbahn from Bludenz toward Schruns and leave at Tschagguns, the penultimate stop. A signposted walking route climbs from the station to the monastery in about fifteen minutes. The ascent is short but noticeable, reflecting Gauenstein’s elevated setting.

A longer scenic route from Schruns loops past the monastery and Landschrofen-Känzili viewpoint before descending through the Gaueserwald. This can turn a church-and-garden visit into an easy landscape walk. Schruns station connects with regional buses throughout Montafon.

Drivers leave the A14 at Bludenz-Montafon, follow the L188 into the valley and turn toward Gauesweg after entering Schruns. The monastery address is Gauesweg 1, 6780 Schruns. Parking arrangements are not described as a large tourist facility, so visitors should follow current signs and avoid blocking the residential or monastic approach.

The summer garden is open Tuesday through Sunday in two periods, 09:00–12:00 and 14:00–19:00. The church is presented as open for prayer, but no separate dependable daily church timetable is published. Prayer events can provide additional public access, while private parts of the house remain closed.

No standard admission fee is published. Donations support the community. Detailed barrier-free information for the historic church and garden paths is not published, so travellers with mobility requirements should contact the sisters before arrival. The footpath from Tschagguns includes an uphill section that may also affect planning.

Forty-five minutes to an hour is a good minimum for church and garden. A retreat, contemplative prayer or longer walk belongs to a different kind of visit and should not be squeezed into a sightseeing schedule. Gauenstein works best when travellers accept the slow pace of the place rather than trying to maximise attractions per hour.