It’s Saturday, April 25. I’ve walked from the train station to my hotel and find a line of German tour buses. That was my first indication that Altötting is a pilgrimage town, many people likely here for the weekend. The second indication is the number of priests and nuns walking about the square and in the several churches on the square, in much greater number than in either Melk Abbey or Lambach Abbey and their host villages.

After checking into my hotel, a walk down the street found me straight in a square of churches and shops. My aching IT band was getting a break today. My hotel has an elevator and the town center is just down the street, so minimal walking on this beautiful day of clear skies under 70-degree temperature.

Among the noted churches around the Kapellplatz, or church square:

The Chapel of Grace with an octagonal spire houses a standing mother and child statue carved of lime wood dating to around 1300, the Black Madonna.

In 2006, Pope Benedict XVI prayed to the Madonna and gifted his bishop’s ring to her. There is more detail on gifts to Altötting Madonna on the Altötting Herz Bayerns site.

In the Chapel of Grace, there are also silver urns containing the hearts of several prince electors of the Wittelsbach family, a former Bavarian dynasty.

Stiftspfarrkirche St. Philippus and Jakobus completed around 1500, although the original form existed around 900. this interior with its Gothic hall is awesomely beautiful.

Basilika St. Anna is the new kid on the block among the churches in Altötting. It is also the largest church, holding up to 8,000 worshippers. The basilica was built in the early 1900’s by the guardian of St. Konrad, a friar much loved by pilgrims. In his early 30’s St. Konrad joined the Capuchin order, an order of friars in the Franciscan tradition that base their work on austerity, poverty and contemplative prayer.

After joining the pilgrims who flocked to Altötting this beautiful weekend at the churches on the square, I took a broad look around this pilgrim town, and a look at the shops offering memorabilia for pilgrims. Then, I join those who took advantage of the outdoor dining.

This was a refreshing day to walk about this town where pilgrims have come seeking contemplation and prayer for centuries.

Tomorrow, Maria Antonia and I are off for a two-day overnight stop, very different in size and tone. Stay tuned.