The Kaserer Mother at Steinegg/Collepietra
There is a beautiful mountain village called Steinegg, situated between the Rosengarten, Latemar and Schlern massifs – places that have a magical attraction of their own. So it is not surprising that Steinegg, a European star village, not only can tell stories of astronomy, but also of miraculous events where the boundaries between faith and superstition merge.
“Oh, Kaserer Mother, you are not one jot less worthy than Our Lady of Piné!”
A larch tree of unusual circumference once stood in Steinegg, upon which the image of Our Lady of Piné had grown. At that time people would bring their needs and concerns to lay at the feet of the “Kaserer Mother” as the image was known, because the larch tree stood next to the Kasererhof farm. Over the generations, many a man from the Kaserer farm tried to chop down the tree, but in vain: the tree was enchanted and no axe could bring it down. It happened that one day two women, possessed by an evil spirit, were brought from Kastelruth to our Lady of Piné for healing. As they passed the image of the Kaserer Mother, they threw themselves down and cried with all their might: “Oh, Kaserer Mother, you are not one jot less worthy than Our Lady of Piné!” Praising the image, they could not be moved from the spot. Even the evil spirit offered a tribute to the image.
The reputation of the image thus grew and huge crowds came to visit: only when the owner of the Kaserer farm promised to build a little church in place of the tree was the spell broken and the larch tree could be felled. Its wood was used to build the little Church of Our Lady, which became a place of pilgrimage for many people and is also a setting to linger and listen to stories.
