Wonneberg

For centuries, the town of St. Leonhard in Wonneberg, with the pilgrimage church of the same name, has been the destination of pilgrims who worship the patron saint of horses. Today the little church also attracts visitors interested in art. The Salzburg Prince Archbishop Leonhard von Keutschach had the church completed in 1496 in the late Gothic style. In 1630, an early baroque painting followed with frescoes worth seeing, which were uncovered again during renovation work in the 1980s. The four late-Gothic altarpieces (1511-1513), which are among the highest-quality works from the workshop of Gordian Guckh from Laufen, are also real treasures. Today's furnishings and the new high altar date from the 19th century. The performances of the Leonharder Goasslschnalzer are worth seeing.

Local history of Wonneberg

Wonneberg has only existed as a political municipality since the constitution of the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1818. In a geographical sense, this means a ridge formed by the Salzach Glacier on the southern edge of the Waginger Basin and its highest point north of Reichwimm at 629 meters above sea level reached. Finds from the Celtic period and a Roman milestone, which was found in 1999 in front of the Egerdach church, point to the early settlement. The place used to be called Wonneberg, but was only ever referred to as St. Leonhard because of the important pilgrimage church. In 1952 the name was changed to St. Leonhard am Wonneberg.

Wonneberger personalities

Strangely enough, a silver swede in the municipal coat of arms reminds us of the person who completed today's pilgrimage church, Archbishop Leonhard von Keutschach (1442-1519). As the scion of a Carinthian farming family without a coat of arms, he had chosen the beet as his emblem. The local home curator and honorary citizen Leonhard Wimmer (1914-2004), who was regarded as a historical researcher, was involved in the development of the local coat of arms.