Our Lady of Birnau

Advocación mariana de Uhldingen-Mühlhofen (Baden-Wurtemberg)

Birnau's devotion is linked to a long-standing tradition on the north bank of Lake Constance, in the present municipality of Uhldingen-Mühlhofen (Baden-Wurtemberg, Alemania). La llada Old Birnauon Nußdorf, in the surroundings of Überlingen, is first mentioned in a document of 1222; allí se veneraba una miraculous image of the Virgin Mary, which gave rise to the local pilgrimage.

Main data

Origin and history

Birnau's devotion is linked to a long-standing tradition on the north bank of Lake Constance, in the present municipality of Uhldingen-Mühlhofen (Baden-Wurtemberg, Alemania). La llada Old Birnauon Nußdorf, in the surroundings of Überlingen, is first mentioned in a document of 1222; allí se veneraba una miraculous image of the Virgin Mary, which gave rise to the local pilgrimage.

La documented history of the present Baroque church begins in the 18th century: its construction began 8 June 1747 and the opening took place 20 September 1750. Several descriptions place it as a work raised for the abbey of Salem and as one of the great baroque pilgrimage churches of Lake Constance, although for the devotional record it is enough to emphasize that the present sanctuary is the historical continuity of that ancient Marian pilgrimage.

The image and the sanctuary

The invocation focuses on the miraculous image of the Virgin Mary venerated in Birnau; the sources consulted highlight their character image of grace o Gnaden imagebut is not safe in the sources available here a complete technical sheet on material, authorship or precise iconography of the size / image.

The official temple is the Sanctuary of Birnau, also called Basilika Mariä Himmelfahrt o Basilica of Our Lady of the Assumption of Birnau. This is a Baroque pilgrimage church located on the north bank of Lake Constance, in Uhldingen-Mühlhofen; was raised to the title of minor basilica by the Pope Academias en 1971. The fountains also describe it as a rock church very rich in interior decoration and with outstanding artistic elements, but without turning it into a cathedral or a national sanctuary specifically recognized as such in the fountains provided.

Sponsorship and coronation

In the sources consulted no consta a patronazgo civil or diocesan formal of the advocation over a specific city, municipality or diocese. It is known to be a great local Marian sanctuary of pilgrimage in Uhldingen-Mühlhofen and its historical connection with the ancient pilgrimage of the Überlingen-Nußdorf region.

On the canonical coronation, does not contain a documented canonical coronation in the sources verified here.

Party and devotion

The pilgrimage in Birnau is traditionally concentrated around the August 15, solemnidad de la Assumption of the Virgin Mary, consistent with the official title of the Basilica (Mary ascension). The sources consulted indicate that every year it attracts multiple pilgrimages and many faithful, although they do not always offer a unique and stable influx.

Among the most known devotional features is the popular image of the “Honey goose”: a famous figure of Birnau's ornamentation, very associated with the popular reception of the sanctuary and its baroque environment. The basilica is also a frequent place of visit, veneration, concerts and celebrations, which confirms its double dimension of Marian sanctuary and religious-cultural heritage.

Link to the Rosary

The sources consulted do not document a specific and exclusive historical link between Our Lady of Birnau and a particular practice of the Rosary. However, as in so many Marian pilgrimages of Baroque tradition, devotion to the sanctuary is fully understood within the spirituality of the Rosarywhich leads to contemplating the mysteries of Christ with Mary and to entrust to the Virgin the intentions of the pilgrims.

In this sense, Birnau is naturally integrated into the Marian piety of the Rosary: the contemplation of the Assumption and the veneration of the Mother of the Lord illuminate a prayer that, in the Marian shrines, has served for centuries as a way of meditation, supplication and thanksgiving.