Birkenstein Pilgrimage Church

The Maria Himmelfahrt Birkenstein pilgrimage church in Fischbachau, Upper Bavaria, is a true folk sanctuary. Located in the Leitzach Valley in the Mangfall Mountains at the foot of the Breitenstein, it is famous for its late medieval statue of the Virgin Mary, which has been venerated here as a miraculous image since 1673. Every year, numerous pilgrims come here from near and far. During my visit early on the morning of 1 May, I found two touching elderly ladies busy preparing the outdoor altar for the arrival of several walking pilgrimages.

The church was built in 1710. Above the entrance to the crypt hangs one of the many crosses on the outer facade, surrounded by numerous votive tablets. The side walls of the sanctuary are also almost completely covered with such tablets, telling stories of the concerns for which people have received healing, rescue, or other help here for over 300 years.

High above the complex rises the ridge of the Breitenstein, a popular hiking destination and excellent viewpoint in both summer and winter. It is not as well-known as the higher Wendelstein, which is accessible by cable car and rack railway, but it offers an equally impressive panorama over the Mangfall Mountains and the Alpine foothills, from Munich across to Lake Chiemsee. In return, it is less crowded.

The previous evening, I had climbed to the Bockstein summit with light photo equipment from the hikers’ car park at the Winklerstüberl to enjoy the warm early summer evening on the Breitenstein and to find a location for a sunrise photo.

The ascent via the Bucheralm is the shortest and fastest route. This allowed me to memorise the path for the tour in the dark with a headlamp and the then heavier camera rucksack.

Around the summer solstice, the sun is far enough north in front of the summit plateau, which runs east-west, and should then be visible over the Chiemgau at sunrise. But for the coming morning, it was still too early in the year; I had to postpone this tour for a few weeks. Even at sunset, the Bockstein cast a large shadow on the rock face of the Breitenstein; in mid-June, the evening sun might still illuminate the wall directly.

So it happened that instead of the sunrise ascent the next morning, I took a walk via the Schwaigeralm to the Maria Birkenstein pilgrimage church before heading home later in the day for the May Day celebrations with the ribbon dance around the maypole.