Our Lady of Hergiswald

Marian title of Kriens (Hergiswald) (Lucerne)

La devoción a Our Lady of Hergiswald is linked to the baroque Marian sanctuary located in Hergiswald, on Kriens horwin the canton of Lucerne, in central Switzerland. The documentation of the place shows that the church of pilgrimage belongs to the great religious and artistic impulse of the 17th century in Catholic Switzerland, and the sanctuary is presented today as the "most important place of pilgrimage" of the canton of Lucerne from the artistic and historical point of view.

Main data

Origin and history

La devoción a Our Lady of Hergiswald is linked to the baroque Marian sanctuary located in Hergiswald, on Kriens horwin the canton of Lucerne, in central Switzerland. The documentation of the place shows that the church of pilgrimage belongs to the great religious and artistic impulse of the 17th century in Catholic Switzerland, and the sanctuary is presented today as the "most important place of pilgrimage" of the canton of Lucerne from the artistic and historical point of view.

La documented history of the temple stands out mainly for its baroque factory and for its character as a pilgrimage sanctuary, not for a widely accredited parallel narrative in the sources consulted. Consequently, does not contain a clearly documented Marian foundational tradition in the sources available for this sheet; the safe is the existence of the sanctuary and its development as a place of worship in the 17th century.

As for the environment, the sanctuary is in a wooded area in the north of the Pilatus, in an elevated position with views over Lucerne, the lake and the surrounding mountains, which reinforces its profile of retreat and pilgrimage.

The image and the sanctuary

The advocation is venerated in the Sanctuary of Hergiswald (Hergiswald pilgrimage church), an official name with which the sanctuary is presented on its own page. It is not recorded in the sources consulted that it is a minor basilica or national sanctuary; it is described as a important place of pilgrimage of the canton of Lucerne.

The site of the sanctuary highlights two especially known features of the temple: its condition of Baroque church raised in the 17th century and its famous painted roof. It also highlights the value of its sacra and the natural framework of the place, which are part of the devotional and artistic experience of the whole.

On the concrete image of Our Lady venerated in Hergiswald, the sources consulted do not provide a precise enough iconographic description to affirm specific type, material or details without error risk; therefore, these data no constant con seguridad in the documentation collected for this document.

Sponsorship and coronation

There is no widely documented formal patronage of Our Lady of Hergiswald on a city, municipality, diocese or nation in the sources consulted. What is clear is his condition of reference Marian sanctuary in the canton of Lucerne and a place of special religious and cultural relevance.

It also does not contain a documented canonical coronation of this advocation in the verified sources for this sheet. In strict terms, the following must be stated: does not contain a documented canonical coronation.

Party and devotion

A main holiday date of Our Lady of Hergiswald in the sources consulted. If there is a specific local celebration, it has not been sufficiently documented in the verified material used here.

But it is clear that the church remains. open daily and that offers pastoral and sacramental attention, which indicates a living and continuous devotion. The sanctuary is also presented as a place of spiritual and cultural visit, integrated into the pilgrimage landscape of central Switzerland.

The verified sources do not provide sufficiently secure quantitative flow data or specific popular traditions to include them without the risk of inventing information.

Link to the Rosary

In the sources consulted does not contain a specific and exclusive historical link between Our Lady of Hergiswald and the Rosary prayer. It is therefore not wise to attribute a particular rosarian tradition without express documentation.

However, as a Marian sanctuary, Hergiswald is naturally inserted into the Catholic spirituality in which the Rosary He accompanies the contemplation of the mysteries of Christ with Mary. In this type of sanctuaries, the Rosary is often a common form of pilgrim prayer and Marian meditation, although in this case no consta a uniquely documented institutional or historical association.