For more than 1250 years Altötting has been Bavaria’s spiritual centre and Germany’s main pilgrimage site. This little town has been the scene of religious pilgrimages by Catholics in honour of the Virgin Mary, also including the visits of Pope John Paul II and Benedict XVI. Then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, later Pope Benedict XVI celebrated numerous masses and pilgrim events in this city known for a miracle declared in the 15th century.
One of the most important highlights of our tour is the Chapel of Grace, one of the outstanding and best-known church buildings of all Bavaria. The original baptism basin was probably erected around 700, thus making the Chapel of Grace one of the oldest churches in Germany. Even today, pilgrims carry wooden crosses during a procession around the church. Numerous votive tablets are located on the side walls of the longhouse while the niches hold the silver heart urn of the former national princes of Wittelsbach.
Come with us for a special and comprehensive learning experience about the place that has shaped Christendom in Bavaria and that has reverberated around Germany and the entire world.