A Palm Sunday post (sort of)

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Now that I live in the desert in southern Israel, away from Jerusalem, it is hard to get fresh Christian photos for the blog.
So last October when I sighted this cute children's book, The Story of Easter, in a church in rural Austria, I knew it would be the blog post for Palm Sunday!

The kids' books were in the basket in back of the pews.
I guess to keep little ones busy in case they are brought to Mass.

I also got a kick out of the congregation's German songbook, Singe Jerusalem.
And that's in addition to their grey Gotteslob prayerbooks. 

The Roman Catholic parish church of the little Austrian town Pinkafeld was built in 1774 in Late Baroque style.

Happy Palm Sunday to all the Christian friends out there! 

(To see Jerusalem Palm Sunday blog photos, please click here and here.)
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Austrian reflections: churches, candles, and muddy pants

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Austria has given me a few pictures for James' meme, Weekend Reflections.
First, in the entrance to the St. Vincent old people's home, which has a nice modern chapel of its own*, you see steeples of the two big churches of Pinkafeld.
The Evangelische Pfarrkirche and the Roman Catholic church were both built in the 18th century.

In the door of the Rathaus, Pinkafeld's city hall, the main street of the old part of town is reflected.
Notice the "1639" above! 

Back at the Franziskus community where I am spending the month, the candles in the little gift shop (where everything is made by the 18 members) show through the window, while on top the courtyard and house are reflected.

And near the window, a telltale sign that this is a working farm.
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*One of the nuns was sitting in the chapel praying, so I didn't take pictures there at St. Vincent's.
Too bad, because they have an interesting modern wooden "crucifix," but the cross has no crossbar so Jesus simply has outstretched arms.
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Stones in a cage

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In the hills around Jerusalem I was used to seeing ancient agricultural terrace walls.
Farmers built them from stones they cleared from the field.
They placed one stone on another in just the right way that the terrace wall would last for thousands of years.
So now when I see this easy-to-make stone wall in an Austrian village I have to wonder (and giggle a bit too).

See posts about the ancient terraces near Jerusalem  here.
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Pinkafeld's Pranger

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For ABC Wednesday, P is for the Pranger of Pinkafeld.
The oldest remaining building in this Austrian village was built in 1600 and served as the Rathaus or "city hall" for a long time, but now it houses the Pinkafeld Stadtmuseum.

The museum is really a labor of love, and I'll show you the inside in coming days.

But first looks what's OUTSIDE -- the Pranger, erected in 1804!

Wikipedia explains it as

a Central European physical punishment device related to the stocks and the pillory. The Middle Low German word means "something that pinches badly".

The pranger chained the victim's neck to a pair of leg restraints fastened around the ankles. Often the chain was short so that the offender was placed in an uncomfortable half-kneeling position.

In another type of pranger (pillory), the condemned person was tied to a column that stood in the town center for public view. 

The pranger was only used for public humiliation as punishment, not for painful interrogation or coercion.

But why the sword you ask?
It has to do with Blutgericht (Blood Court) and Jus gladii (high justice).
In the Holy Roman Empire this referred to the right of a Vogt (a reeve) to hold a criminal court inflicting bodily punishment, including the death penalty.
In Latin ius gladii literally means "the right of the sword," referring to the legal authority of an individual or group to execute someone for a capital offense, i.e. high justice.
The sword of justice (and hand of justice) are regalia that (often proudly and publicly) symbolize this highest penal authority.
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Village murals on Austria's National Day

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I had to go all the way from Israel to Pinkafeld, a village in Austria, to find something to post for Monday Murals.

Here they are.

In 1697 Pinkafeld had 1,500 inhabitants.
Now there are 4,545.

I'll show you the nice village in the coming posts.

Best wishes to Austria today on her National Day.

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