Brotherhood of God of distress

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Entrance gate of Nothgottes Monastery

The Nothgottes Brotherhood Kruft was founded in 1928 and today has 342 members (as of September 2015). It originated in the tradition of pilgrimages after the great plague epidemic of 1666 and every year on the first weekend in September it undertakes a three-day pilgrimage on foot from Kruft to the pilgrimage site of Nothgottes above Rüdesheim, 78 kilometers away .

The pilgrimage has its origins in a vow during or after the plague epidemic in 1666. At that time, the citizens of Krufter promised before God that they would make a pilgrimage to Nothgottes once a year when the plague epidemic would end. Since then, there has been evidence that this pilgrimage has taken place every year from 1674 and, according to oral tradition, has never been interrupted until today. Particularly noteworthy is the achievement of a pilgrim who once took the path all alone during the Second World War so as not to break the promise to God.

The process: The procession starts on the pilgrimage on Friday afternoon (before the first Sunday in September). Via Ochtendung and Kobern-Gondorf , the first section ends in Dieblich on Friday evening . On Saturday the longest section leads the pilgrims from Dieblich via Naßheck to Boppard (lunch break) and then further along the Rhine via Hirzenach and St. Goar to Oberwesel . On Sunday morning, after a mass in the Liebfrauenkirche (Oberwesel) , the pilgrims start up the Rhine via Niederheimbach to shortly after Trechtingshausen . A basalt memorial stone was erected there in 2012 in honor of the pilgrims who died there. From a jetty below Rheinstein Castle , the Rhine is crossed by ship to Assmannshausen . After the lunch break, those pilgrims for whom it is the 25th, 40th, 50th or 55th participation are honored at a chapel in Assmannshausen (the latter honor was first given in 2018). From there it goes on via Aulhausen, where a short prayer is held in the parish church, through the forest to the destination in Nothgottes. The last part of the pilgrimage is the transport of the miraculous image of the Blood Sweating Savior of Nothgottes to the parish church of Rüdesheim.

The number of pilgrims has unfortunately steadily decreased in recent years. While more than 100 pilgrims regularly took part in the pilgrimage in the 1990s, the number has now fallen to 60, and the trend is still falling.

The procession is led by two pilgrim guides. They are not only the prayer leaders, but also responsible and responsible for the process and organization. Every year, following the pilgrimage to the Leyendeckerkapelle next to the pilgrimage church Nothgottes, the new young pilgrim guide is determined for the coming pilgrimage. In the following year he worked as an old pilgrim guide. In 2004/2005 there was a female pilgrim guide for the first time.

  • The Krufter Parish Church of St. Dionysius

  • Nothgottes Monastery

  • Monastery church inside

  • Leyendecker Chapel

literature

  • Johann Riotte: Krufter pilgrimage booklet: prayers and chants, which are performed on the annual pilgrimage from Kruft to Not-Gottes, Bornhofen and Maria-Hilf. Steyl 1909.
  • Krufter pilgrimage booklet. Prayers and chants performed on the annual pilgrimages from Kruft to Noth-Gottes, Bornhofen and Maria-Hilf. Compiled in 2000.