Gauenstein monastery church

On a wooded knoll above Schruns stands Gauenstein monastery, and its church has been a place for pilgrims and walkers for centuries. A chapel was built here in 1709 and consecrated in 1721; in 1843 Fidel and Anna-Maria Tschol of Schruns endowed a monastery, the first Capuchins arrived in 1844, the present church of Our Lady of Sorrows was built in 1847 and consecrated in 1851, and the monastery building followed in 1853/54. The plain rectangular hall with its porch holds a high altar painting of the Sorrowful Virgin by Johann Paul Scheiber (c. 1750), a side altar and Stations of the Cross by Josef Anton Bertle (1849) and a bell from 1751. After 177 years the Capuchins left in 2021; today the Poor Clares live and pray here, keeping the church open as a place of quiet, opening the monastery garden at set times and offering a guest house, retreats, contemplation evenings and guided tours.

From our house it is 11.1 km or 14 minutes to Schruns; we walk up from the church square via the Litz promenade and the steep monastery path in about 20 minutes, while bus 641 stops below at the Gauenstein stop. From the monastery meadow you look out over Schruns-Tschagguns and the Drei Türme. The Gauenstein loop (5.5 km) links monastery, the Landschrofen-Känzili viewpoint and Tschagguns station.

Last updated: 13 Sep 2026