The Habsberg near
Velburg in the county of
Neumarkt in the
Upper Palatinate is a place of
pilgrimage in the
Oberpfalz Jura. On the mountain is the church of Our Lady of Health (''Maria Heil der Kranken''), a chapel of grace, and a diocesan youth house belonging to the
Diocese of Eichstätt
In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associat ...
. The mountain is 621 metres high.
History
In the
Middle Ages there was a small castle on the Habsberg known as
Habsberg Castle
The Habsberg near Velburg in the county of Neumarkt in the Upper Palatinate is a place of pilgrimage in the Oberpfalz Jura. On the mountain is the church of Our Lady of Health (''Maria Heil der Kranken''), a chapel of grace, and a diocesan yo ...
, of which a
cistern
A cistern (Middle English ', from Latin ', from ', "box", from Greek ', "basket") is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. Cisterns are distinguished from wells by t ...
has survived to the present day. The origin of the pilgrimage is associated with the construction of the first
chapel around 1680. According to local accounts a man fell from the Helfenburg near Lengenfeld fell very ill with
gout. As he prayed, he heard a voice that said to him that he should build a chapel on the Habsberg. So the estate was purchased and, in 1682, the chapel was completed.
The Habsberg became well known for being the site of several
miraculous healing
Faith healing is the practice of prayer and gestures (such as laying on of hands) that are believed by some to elicit divine intervention in spiritual and physical healing, especially the Christian practice. Believers assert that the healing ...
s. As a result, in 1730 a larger chapel was built.
In 1760 the church of Our Lady of Health (''Maria Heil der Kranken'') was built in the
rococo style. Today it is the
pilgrimage church.
In 1961 a youth house was built which has been remodelled several times. Halfway up the mountain is a woodland cemetery.
External links
Haus am HabsbergHabsberg on the diocesan website
{{Coord, 49.31321, N, 11.63201, E, type:landmark_region:DE-BY, display=title, format=dms
Neumarkt (district)
Catholic pilgrimage sites
Roman Catholic churches in Bavaria
Pilgrimage churches in Germany