Maria Bildstein
Maria Bildstein is a Marian pilgrimage site on the Benkner Büchel near Benken in the Swiss canton of St. Gallen . It has a pilgrimage church , a calvary , a picture nursery, a priest's house as well as numerous grottos and chapels .
geography
The place of pilgrimage is located at 528 m above sea level. M. on the east side of the Benkner Büchel in the middle of the forest and can be reached via several hiking trails or the access road from Benken.
history
The place of pilgrimage was founded in 1519 with the construction of a small wayside shrine for a Madonna figure . The foundation is said to go back to the master servant of the Schänis monastery, Johann Heinrich Jud, who probably intended to offer this sacrifice to Saint Mary to avert the plague epidemic. The later nickname "Gfrörer-Chappeli" is to be seen in connection with the centuries-old problem of marsh fever, which was rampant in the Lin Plain and at that time called "Gfrörer" .
As early as the 18th century, a small pilgrim chapel was built next to the wayside shrine, and a larger prayer chapel was built around 1830. Under the leadership of the Benkner chaplain Alois Widmer (1813–1867), Maria Bildstein was expanded into a larger pilgrimage site in 1848 with the first stone chapel “ Our Lady of Victory ”. A lavishly furnished pilgrimage chapel built by Clemens Steiner in 1884 had to give way to a large pilgrimage church with a crypt in 1956. The artificial grottoes and chapels as well as the Calvary go back to the initiative of Johann Anton Hafner (1862–1929).
In 2019 the place of pilgrimage celebrates its 500th anniversary. The new work by the St. Gallen artist Marlies Pekarek "Maria with child in a forest garden" will be inaugurated as an extension of the cave and crossroads. In addition, open-air games will take place in front of the pilgrimage church. The author of the play is Paul Steinmann .
Attractions
Pilgrimage church
The pilgrimage church in the forest was built in 1965–66 according to plans by Hans Burkard . The two-aisled building with a side bell tower has a covered vestibule. The high altar with the late Gothic image of grace "Maria with the child", which was bought in, dominates the room. In the side aisle , the baroque wooden statuette of "Christ on the Scourge Column " is placed, which has been in Maria Bildstein since 1740. The crypt is decorated with stained glass by Jost Blöchliger. In addition to the Vesper picture from 1884, the original wayside shrine with the statue of Mary from 1519 is also set up here. The forecourt of the church has several rows of stone benches for pilgrimages .
In summer 2014 the church was slightly renovated and the chancel redesigned.
Picture hoard
The picture hoard is set up in a wooden building, in which various votive and other pictures from the Bildstein chapel from 1883, which was demolished in 1966, are kept, including a painting of the sea battle of Lepanto that Eugen Zardetti created in 1884.
Way of the Cross with Calvary
The Way of the Cross , created in the 1880s on the initiative of Johann Anton Hafner, consists primarily of wayside shrines in the Neo-Renaissance style with plastic figures. Individual stations are designed in a more original way, such as the crucifixion group in the style of a Calvary or the burial grotto.
Chapels and grottoes
The eleven grottos are original, some with an extensive range of sculptures and some with glass paintings. They show scenes from the life of Christ or are consecrated to saints. The Maria Lourdes Grotto is particularly popular with pilgrims.
The small Meinrad Chapel , which was built entirely of wood and integrated into the natural trees of the forest, is remarkable . The other Magdalene wayside shrine is at the priest's house.
Infrastructure
The place of pilgrimage is constantly looked after by clergy who live in the priest's house. In addition, the pilgrimage site has its own kiosk, toilet facilities and three restaurants in the vicinity.
meaning
Maria Bildstein is a nationally known and popular place of pilgrimage. In addition, from an art-historical and landscape-architectural point of view, the design of the place is unique in the entire northern Alpine region. In the Southern Alps, only the baroque Sacri Monti are to be mentioned as comparable facilities. With its large number of chapels and grottoes embedded in the landscape, the pilgrimage site can be counted among the most original of the 19th century.
gallery
Grave grotto
Lourdes grotto
Rectory
Picture hoard
Magdalene Grotto
Meinrad Chapel
Oelbergsgrotte
literature
- Art guide through Switzerland. Volume 1, Society for Swiss Art History, Bern 2005.
- Maria Bildstein - The place of pilgrimage in the Linth area through the ages , Maria Bildstein Foundation Council, Benken 1979.
- Stefan Paradowski: Benken (SG). In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
Web links
- Information from the pilgrimage parish office
- 500 years of Maria Bildstein Information on the anniversary open-air plays in 2019
- Place of pilgrimage Maria Bildstein Information on the website of the Catholic parish of Benken
- Maria Bildstein Information on the website of the political community Benken
Individual evidence
- ^ Stefan Paradowski: Benken (SG). In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland , accessed on April 5, 2019 .
- ^ Maria Bildstein - The place of pilgrimage in the Linth area through the ages , Foundation Council Maria Bildstein, Benken 1979, pp. 15–77.
- ↑ Extension of the systems under Jubilee on mariabildstein.ch accessed on April 5, 2019
- ^ Benken SG: Maria Bildstein pilgrimage chapel is blessed Article on kath.ch from August 9, 2014
- ^ Maria Bildstein - The place of pilgrimage in the Linth area through the ages , Foundation Council Maria Bildstein, Benken 1979, p. 15-107.
- ^ Art guide through Switzerland - Volume 1 , Society for Swiss Art History GSK, Bern 2005.
Coordinates: 47 ° 11 '32.6 " N , 9 ° 1' 15.9" E ; CH1903: 719915 / 228036