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Published: September 27th 2010
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You have already sojourned with us into the interesting world of King Ludwig II of Bavaria and his fairy tale castle of Neuschwanstein. After spending the better part of the day with Mad Ludwig and the gift shops clustered in Hohenschwangau, Vanda and I couldn’t let the rest of the day be squandered on a void in the itinerary. So a quick check of the Rick Stevens tour book disclosed that the Wieskirche pilgrimage church was 30 or so minutes away. Naturally, we beat feet for it. I remembered this church from my days in Oberammergau and that it was located in the middle of a field in the middle of nowhere.
Sure enough, my memories hadn’t dimmed after 40 years. Upon arriving in the middle of nowhere, there was this huge church - the Wieskirche. We arrived late in the afternoon and were lucky - it was still open and very few visitors were there. And this is a place that normally sees many tour buses and thousands daily.
A little history to give you the reason why it is here. In 1730 a priest from the Premonstratensian monastery built a figure of the Scourged Savior to be
used in the Good Friday procession. He used parts from several figures to make the statue, but because the likeness was in chains and was covered with blood and wounds, it raised the pity of the congregation to such a degree that it was put aside and placed in the attic of the monastery’s innkeeper. In March 1738 the innkeeper’s godmother Maria Lory, moved the Scourged Savior to her farm, the “Wieshof,” where it became an object of veneration. During evening prayers on June 14, 1738 the “Miracle of the Wies” took place. On that evening and the following morning she noticed some drops in the face of the figure that she took for tears. This was the beginning of a rapidly increasing pilgrimage movement to the “Wies” that continues to this day.
Initially the statue was in a very small field chapel. But this chapel was just too small to accommodate the volume of pilgrims from all over Europe. So, the church that stands today was constructed - the cornerstone was laid in 1746 and it was completed in 1757. It is the greatest example of Late Rocco building art in Europe. The artists who painted the interior
Figure of the Scourged Saviour
Pilgrims still come to see the figure of Christ that shed tears and the architects of the church were considered to be among the greatest of the Bavarian Rocco era.
Looking at the photos of this magnificent church you may wonder why there are pictures of goats included. Well, these two goats are just off the parking lot and greet visitors as they head up to the church. They are pure hams and put on a grand show. Vanda couldn’t get enough of them. As long as someone was watching they were acting and bleating loudly.
After spending time visiting this serene and holy ground, we took the back roads to our hotel in Pfronten, taking some more photos along the way (which Vanda has already posted) and prepared ourselves for the next day’s experience - learning why the cows come home. (See the Viehscheid entry.)
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