The Mesnerturm rises on a hill north of Rollsdorf and is a landmark of Rollsdorf, a district of St. Ruprecht an der Raab.
It is one of the few towers of this type - many of these towers have been torn away and replaced by chapels. The last sexton (Theresia Zeismann) rang the bell three times a day until her death in 1993. After her death, the Mesnerkeusche and the Mesnerturm were renovated by an initiative by Werner Rahm with countless volunteers and are now a listed building.
Refreshment tip 100 m away - Gasthaus Reicher.
The tower is said to have been built around 1756 - the associated sacristan chaste one year later - and used to be one of the typical weather towers. For centuries, the bell was rung for prayer, and according to the original reason for the construction of this bell tower, even when a thunderstorm was approaching, even during a storm.
The Mesnerturm is one of those typical weather towers that have been built since 1600 in many places in Eastern Styria that do not have a church. The tower is 9.05 m high, covered with boards and has four Gothic sound windows in the upper area. According to older community residents, the Mesnerturm fell over in August 1926 during a severe storm. Then it was put back up by a carpenter. In 1932 a huge storm tore down the bell tower again.
The bell of the Mesnerturm is also special. It is consecrated to St. Margaret and was cast in 1756 by Martin Feltl, Hofgießerei Köstenbauer at the Säcktor in Graz, and its size is one of the oldest bells in Austria (information from KR Grassmayr, Grassmayr bell foundry, Innsbruck). The bronze bell has a diameter of 39 cm, weighs 40 kg including the clapper and is richly decorated.
After professional restoration of the bell in 1995/1996, the bell rings today at the usual time at 7:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
The year of construction of the sacristan's house is given as 1757 in a file from the tax office in Weiz. The first school in Rollsdorf was housed in this house between 1785 and 1800. The sacristan chaste had a thatched roof until after the war in 1948. In the period from 1948 to 1952, under the then mayor Maximilian Glück, the farm building was rebuilt, the thatched roof of the chaste was removed, the roof structure renewed and covered with Eternit. The access was only possible via a bad ravine on the Mesnerriegl. In the 1990s, the sacristan's house and the sacristan's tower were renovated by numerous volunteers.
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