St Agatha miners' chapel on the Kristberg

The chapel of St Agatha on the Kristberg owes its existence to mining – and to a legend: miners trapped in a collapsed gallery vowed a church to St Agatha, found a way out and built it right above the gallery exit. During building work in 1992 a gallery was indeed discovered beneath the chapel. Erected around 1400 and first documented in 1450, it is the oldest church in the Montafon; in 1507 the Bludenz master builder Kasper Schop rebuilt it and vaulted the choir with net ribs. Inside awaits a surprising amount of Gothic art: a double winged high altar from the 1470s with Saints Nicholas, Maurice, Theodul, Agatha and Magdalene, a second winged altar with reliefs, a Renaissance side altar of 1633, a timber ceiling with the signs of the zodiac on a blue ground and columns bearing the house and craft marks of the miners. Agatha is the patron saint of metalworkers – hence the name miners' chapel. In front of the church a fountain and memorial commemorate the miners, and next door is the Panoramagasthof Kristberg with views of the Sulzfluh and Zimba.

From our house it is 21.4 km or 29 minutes to the valley station in the Silbertal (bus 650 to Schruns, then 680); in summer 2026 the Kristberg cable car runs daily from 1 May to 1 November, 7.45 am–6.15 pm every half hour, and at the top it is a five-minute walk. In 2026 there is a one-hour miners' guided tour every Thursday at 2 pm (charged, booking via kristberg.at). The Silberpfad, a 2.6 km family trail with twelve stations, passes the chapel.

Last updated: 13 Sep 2026