Bogenhofen

Bogenhofen
Journey to Austria - Chapter II

Deutsch

Willy Logan: Home

For the entire six weeks I was in Austria (June 16 to July 31), save a few days in Friedrichshafen, I lived at Seminar Schloss Bogenhofen, which is situated about seven kilometers from Braunau am Inn, one hour by car north of Salzburg, and two hours east of München.

I don't know why, but I thought, before I went to Bogenhofen, that the school was in the Alps. Not so! Bogenhofen's brochure showed mountains, so naturally it followed that Bogenhofen must be in the Alpens. Actually, the land around Bogenhofen is mostly flat. I could have known, had I looked at a map. No, the land is used for agriculture: for the most part wheat, but also corn.

Bogenhofen is only a Dorf (village) in Bezirk Braunau am Inn and Stadtgemeinde St. Peter am Hart¹. Bogenhofen is isolated. I enjoyed the quiet.

	Seminar Schloss Bogenhofen is a Seventh-day Adventist Seminary, language school, and high school. It was purchased in 1949 by the Adventist Church. The oldest and most interesting building on campus is Schloss² Bogenhofen, the school's namesake. It was originally built in the 15th century, although it was renovated in its present style in the 19th century. During World War II, the building was significantly damaged; it was repaired after the property was bought by the Adventists.
	The interior of the Schloss is mostly new, so I didn't find it particularly interesting.
	Although there was curious writing on the wall, written by students graduating from the high school as a sort of prank.

Next to the Schloss is a pond named "Bogi-Teich." A great number of fish and a few ducks live there; the fish are fed twice daily. The fish are certainly crowded; they jump out of the water frequently. I wanted to photograph this strange behavior but, of course, jumping fish are not predictable in the slightest. Too bad.

	I lived in the "Burschenheim," the boys' dorm. I think it was built in 1989, but I am not certain. It is certainly newer than the dorm at Walla Walla.
self-portrait	It's also nicer. My room had its own bathroom.
	The church was recently built. I never photographed the interior; I don't know why.
	For six weeks, Bogenhofen was my home. It was the base for my adventures. I found Bogenhofen a nice place, and at the end of my stay, I didn't want to leave.

¹ Like the United States and just about every other country, Austria is divided into administrative zones and subzones, to make the place easier to govern. Everybody knows that Wien (Vienna) is the capital of Austria. Like Washington, D.C. and Berlin (to give two examples), Wien is its own city-state. Separate from Wien, there are nine Bundeslände in Austria: Oberösterreich and Niederösterreich in the north, Burgenland in the east, Steiermark and Salzburgerland in the center, Kärnten and Ost-Tirol in the south, and Tirol and Vorarlberg in the west. The Bundeslände are roughly equivalent to the American states; Bogenhofen is in Oberösterreich. A Bezirk is equivalent to an American county; Bogenhofen is in the Bezirk named after Braunau am Inn. Each Bezirk is divided into Stadtgemeinden; Bogenhofen belongs to St. Peter am Hart. Stadtgemeinden are similar to towns, in the sense that they determine postal addresses. Bogenhofen's address is St. Peter am Hart, although Bogenhofen is not technically a part of the city.
²The German word "Schloss" (sometimes spelled "Schloß") translates as "castle", "palace", or "manor". Schloss Bogenhofen falls under the third definition.

Links

Seminar Schloss Bogenhofen - English version of site.
Shutruk Nahhunte - Explanation of writing inside Schloss Bogenhofen, from Wikipedia.

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Outward Bound

Trip to Austria

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Around Bogenhofen