Altötting (, Bavarian: ; ''Oidäding'') is a town in

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

, capital of the district Altötting of Germany. For 500 years it has been the scene of religious pilgrimages by Catholics in honor of Mary, including a visit by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

in 1980 and one by Pope Benedict XVI in 2006.

History

During the

Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippin ...

period, there was a royal palace here. Nearby, King Carloman erected a

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , found ...

monastery in 876, with Werinolf as first abbot, and also built the abbey church in honour of the Apostle St. Philip. In 907 King Louis the Child gave the abbey ''in commendam'' to Burchard, the

Bishop of Passau The Diocese of Passau is a Roman Catholic diocese in Germany that is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising.Louis I of Bavaria rebuilt these buildings and, after they were sanctified, placed them in charge of twelve

Canons Regular Canons regular are priests who live in community under a rule ( and canon in greek) and are generally organised into religious orders, differing from both secular canons and other forms of religious life, such as clerics regular, designated by a ...

, headed by a provost. The canons remained until the secularization of the Bavarian monasteries in 1803. Saint

Conrad of Parzham Conrad of Parzham, O.F.M. Cap. (22 December 181821 April 1894), was a German Franciscan lay brother. He served for over 40 years in the post of porter of the Capuchin friary in Altötting, through which work he gained a widespread reputation fo ...

O.F.M. Cap. The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. O.F.M. Cap.) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of Three " First Orders" that reformed from the Franciscan Friars Minor Observant (OFM Obs., now OFM ...

, (1818–1894) served as porter at the

Friary A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

of St. Ann in the city of Altötting for 40 years.

Grace Chapel

This small town is famous for the ''Gnadenkapelle'' ( Chapel of Grace), one of the most-visited shrines in Germany. This is a tiny octagonal chapel which keeps a venerated statue of the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...

. According to the legend, in 1489, a 3-year-old local boy who had drowned in the river was revived when his grieving mother placed him in front of a wooden statue of the Virgin Mary at the high altar. News of the miracle quickly spread, and the chapel was immediately extended by the erection of a nave and a covered walkway. In the Treasure Vault of the Holy Chapel of Altötting is the Golden Horse, or "Goldenes Rössli", a 62 cm-high altarpiece made of gold and gilded silver, with golden figures coated with different coloured enamel. It depicts the Virgin Mary with the Christ Child, and, as children, John the Baptist, John the evangelist and St. Catherine. In the foreground is King

Charles VI of France Charles VI (3 December 136821 October 1422), nicknamed the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé) and later the Mad (french: le Fol or ''le Fou''), was King of France from 1380 until his death in 1422. He is known for his mental illness and psychotic ...

. This masterpiece of the goldsmith's craft was a gift from Isabeau, Queen of France, a member of the Wittelsbach Bavarian royal family. The tradition of Bavaria calls for the heart of the deceased king to be placed in an urn and kept at the chapel at Altötting. The heart of King

Ludwig II of Bavaria Ludwig II (Ludwig Otto Friedrich Wilhelm; 25 August 1845 – 13 June 1886) was King of Bavaria from 1864 until his death in 1886. He is sometimes called the Swan King or ('the Fairy Tale King'). He also held the titles of Count Palatine of t ...

, the builder of

Neuschwanstein castle Neuschwanstein Castle (german: Schloss Neuschwanstein, , Southern Bavarian: ''Schloss Neischwanstoa'') is a 19th-century historicist palace on a rugged hill above the village of Hohenschwangau near Füssen in southwest Bavaria, Germany. T ...

, lies in this chapel, along with those of his grandfathers and father.

Sights

Other architectural highlights in the town are the twin-towered ''

Stiftskirche In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons: a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by ...

'', a late

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

church erected in the early years of the 16th century in order to cater for the growing affluence of pilgrims, and the huge Neo-baroque ''Basilika'', built at the beginning of the 20th century.

Twin towns – sister cities

Altötting is twinned with: * Loreto, Italy * Mariazell, Austria *

Ourém Ourém (), formerly known as Vila Nova de Ourém, is a municipality in the district of Santarém in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 45,932, in an area of 416.68 km2. The municipality of Ourém contains two cities: Ourém (about 12,000 r ...

, Portugal

Notable people

Notable people associated with Altötting: Kriegsminister von Pranckh

* Louis the Child (893-911), East Frankish King *

Abraham Megerle Abraham Megerle (9 February 1607 in Wasserburg am Inn – 29 May 1680 in Altötting) was an Austrian composer and organist. He served as Kapellmeister to Paris von Lodron, the Prince-Bishop of Salzburg, from 1640 to 1651. He enjoyed the patron ...

(1607-1680), priest and composer *

(1818-1894), a saint of the Roman Catholic Church * Siegmund von Pranckh (1821-1888), Bavarian General and Minister of War *

Hubert Haider __NOTOC__ Hubert Haider (1879–1971) was a German landscape painter. Haider was born 11 February 1879 at Munich, son to the Munich painter Karl Haider and his first wife Katharina, née Brugger (died 1882), niece to the sculptor Friedrich B ...

(1879–1971), landscape painter, lived and died at Altötting * Weiß Ferdl (1883-1949), folk singer and actor * Ernst Hiemer (1900-1974), German writer *

Paul Augustin Mayer Paul Augustin Mayer, OSB (23 May 1911 – 30 April 2010) was a German Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He held various positions in the Roman Curia from 1971 to 1991. Biography Mayer was born in Altötting, Germany, which is located ne ...

(1911-2010), cardinal *

Wilhelm Schraml Wilhelm Schraml (26 June 1935 – 8 November 2021) was a German Roman Catholic prelate, who served as a bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Passau.Passau *

Hans-Christian Schmid Hans-Christian Schmid (born 1965) is a German film director and screenwriter. Life and work Hans-Christian Schmid has collaborated with on several of the movies that he directed. Gutmann wrote screenplays for '' 23 — Nichts ist so wie es sch ...

(born 1965), film director and screenwriter *

Andreas Hykade Andreas Hykade (born 1968 in Altötting, Bavaria) is a German animator, cartoonist, and voice actor. Before studying at the Academy of Fine Arts in Stuttgart from 1988 to 1990, he attended König-Karlmann-Gymnasium Altötting. He worked as an anim ...

(born 1968), animation director * Werner Riess (born 1970), historian * Timo Nagy (born 1983), football player * Christoph Ullmann (born 1983), hockey player * Thomas Kurz (born 1988), football player * Maximilian Thiel (born 1993), football player *

Richard Neudecker Richard Neudecker (born 29 October 1996) is a German professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for 1. FC Saarbrücken in the 3. Liga. Club career Neudecker is a youth exponent from 1860 Munich. He played for the second team of the club ...

(born 1996), football player

References

External links

* *
Official Tourist information (in German and English)

- New Pictures Altötting {{DEFAULTSORT:Altotting Altötting (district) Catholic pilgrimage sites