Sankt Bartholomä am Koenigssee - Koenigssee, Bavaria, Germany
N 47° 32.685 E 012° 58.361
33T E 347448 N 5267694
The "Wallfahrtskirche Sankt Bartholomä am Koenigssee" is a pilgrimage Church on the western shore of der Koenigssee. Unless you are a hiker used to alpine hiking, it is only accessible by ferry.
Waymark Code: WM174W0
Location: Bayern, Germany
Date Posted: 12/12/2022
Views: 7
The peninsula of St. Bartholomew is a semi-circular promontory that pushes far into the southern part of the Königssee below the mountains Hachelköpfe and the famous Watzmann east face (2713 m). The Peninsula is created by the accumulation of debris from the Eisbach, and its' high point carries the church of St. Bartholomew, the inn (formerly the hunting lodge of the prince provosts, then the Bavarian kings), the fisherman's house, ship huts, the former Meierhof and the hunter's house at its eastern end.
A first chapel at the lake was built in 1134 by the Provosts of Berchtesgaden. After the demolition (1697/98) of the previous building from 1134 century, the Church of St. Bartholomew was rebuilt on its foundations at the end of the 17th century and redesigned at the beginning of the 18th century in the baroque form that has been preserved to this day. It is equipped with two different onion domes and three red domed roofs over a three-conch choir, its floor plan resembles the shape of the Salzburg Cathedral. The small church building is adorned with stucco work by the Salzburg artist Josef Schmidt, and the altars in the three conches are each dedicated to a saint consecrated: St. Bartholomew, St. Catherine and St. Jacobus . St. Bartholomew was considered the patron saint of alpine farmers and dairymaids, which is appropriate considering dairy livestock are an important economic part of the local economy to this day.
The annual pilgrimage to St. Bartholomew's is held on the Saturday after 24 August, starting from the Austrian municipality of Maria Alm and crossing the Berchtesgaden Alps. This is the oldest (1635) high mountain pilgrimage in the world!
The Church is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Munich and Freising. This Church can accommodate weddings, though the criteria are expectedly stringent, particularly for folks who come from places afar:
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The Church is more of a special occasion Church, being used for pilgrimages, weddings, day visitors and events due to its' isolation from any areas of population.