St. Bartholomew's () is a Roman Catholic

pilgrimage church A pilgrimage church () is a church to which Christian pilgrimage, pilgrimages are regularly made, or a church along a pilgrimage route, like the Way of St. James, that is visited by pilgrims. Pilgrimage churches are often located by the graves o ...

in the

Berchtesgadener Land Berchtesgadener Land (Central Bavarian: ''Berchtsgoana Land'') is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the district of Traunstein and by the state of Austria. History Middle ages and early modern era The southern a ...

district of

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It is named after Saint

Bartholomew the Apostle Bartholomew was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Most scholars today identify Bartholomew as Nathanael, who appears in the Gospel of John (1:45–51; cf. 21:2). New Testament references The name ''Bartholomew ...

(''Bartholomäus'' in German), patron of alpine farmers and dairymen. The church is located at the western shore of the

Königssee The Königssee () is a natural lake in the southeast Berchtesgadener Land district of the German state of Bavaria, near the Austrian border. Most of the lake is within the Berchtesgaden National Park. Description Situated within the Bercht ...

lake, on the Hirschau peninsula. It can only be reached by ship or after a long hike across the surrounding mountains. A first chapel at the lake was built in 1134 by the Provosts of Berchtesgaden. In 1697, it was rebuilt in a

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

style with a floor plan modeled on

Salzburg Cathedral Salzburg Cathedral () is the seventeenth-century Baroque architecture, Baroque cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Salzburg in the city of Salzburg, Austria, dedicated to Rupert of Salzburg, Saint Rupert and Vergilius of Salzburg, Saint ...

, two

onion dome An onion dome is a dome whose shape resembles an onion. Such domes are often larger in diameter than the tholobate (drum) upon which they sit, and their height usually exceeds their width. They taper smoothly upwards to a point. It is a typical ...

s and a red domed roof. The church features

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and ...

work by the

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

artist Joseph Schmidt and a three-

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

. The altars in the apses are consecrated to Saint Bartholomew, Saint

Catherine Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...

, and Saint

James James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Ja ...

respectively. An annual pilgrimage to St. Bartholomew's is held on the Saturday after 24 August, starting from the

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n municipality of Maria Alm and crossing the

Berchtesgaden Alps The Berchtesgaden Alps (, ) are a mountain range of the Northern Limestone Alps, named after the market town of Berchtesgaden located in the centre. It is crossed by the Austria–Germany border: the central part belongs to the Berchtesgadener Lan ...

. Near the chapel lies the old hunting lodge of the same name. The lodge, which was first erected in the 12th century with the church, has been rebuilt several times. Until 1803, it was a private residence of the Berchtesgaden Prince-provosts; after their territory had been incorporated into the

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria ( ; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1806 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German Empire in 1871, the kingd ...

in 1810, the building became a favourite hunting lodge of the ruling

House of Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a former Bavarian dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including the Electorate of Bavaria, the Electoral Palatinate, the Electorate of Cologne, County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, ...

; today it is an inn. The church can be seen from a famous

scenic viewpoint A scenic viewpoint—also called an observation point, viewpoint, viewing point, vista point, scenic overlook,These terms are more commonly used in North America. etc.—is an elevated location where people can view scenery (often with binocu ...

743 meters above, which is called Archenkanzel.

Gallery

File:Koenigssee - St. Bartholomew's Church 01.jpg File:Koenigssee - St. Bartholomew's Church 02.jpg San Bartolomé, Lago del Rey, Alemania, 2019-05-17, DD 22.jpg San Bartolomé, Lago del Rey, Alemania, 2019-05-17, DD 24.jpg San Bartolomé, Lago del Rey, Alemania, 2019-05-17, DD 18.jpg San Bartolomé, Lago del Rey, Alemania, 2019-05-17, DD 105-107 HDR.jpg San Bartolomé, Lago del Rey, Alemania, 2019-05-17, DD 102-104 HDR.jpg D.Kui1967 St. Bartholomew's Church.jpg

Panoramic view

References

*The information in this article is based on that in its German equivalent.

External links

The Bavarian Palace Department: St. Bartholomew's Church

Sankt Bartholomä
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Bartholomew's Church, Berchtesgaden Roman Catholic churches in Bavaria Berchtesgaden Alps Pilgrimage churches in Germany Registered historic buildings and monuments in Bavaria Buildings and structures in Berchtesgadener Land Churches completed in 1698