Germany - Lengenbach, Wallfahrtskirche Maria Hilf

The charming pilgrimage church Maria Hilf (St. Mary's Help) is dating back to 1694. In that year the son of the local shepherd Johann Prant was suddenly paralyzed. Out of desperation over this stroke of fate, he "became engaged to Our Lady" and promised to erect a Martersäule (scourging pillar) in her honour at Lengenbach, should his child recover again. After the boy recovered he received permission from the diocese of Eichstätt, after examining the recovery of his son, to erect a chapel in honour of the Mother of God in Lengenbach. Because he had often seen a chapel in his dreams, he started building one with his own hands, high and round like a Martersäule.

Very soon the pilgrimage to the Mother of God began and increased rapidly. This led to the plan to build a larger chapel. The master bricklayer Leonhard Preindl from nearby Deining created the current building (1757 – 1760).
Little by little the church was equipped. In 1768 it became its wonderful ceiling fresco "Assumption of the Virgin Mary"; two years later followed by the ornamented pulpit.

Nowadays the interior is blocked by a fence, because in the seventies of the last century twentyfive of the partly very valuable votive pictures were stolen. So I had to take my pictures from behind that fence.