Our Lady Of Bavaria
Country : Italy
Year : 1330
The shrine in Bavaria lies amid the mountains about three miles south of Oberammergau in upper Bavaria. A Benedictine monastery was founded there in 1330 by the Emperor Ludwig IV, who established a community of twelve knights with their families to guard the place.
The emperor gave a small stone statue of the Mother of God, carved in Italy; and Ettal, as the place is called, was soon famous both for its shrine of Mary and the learning of the monks. In 1744 the medieval church was burnt down, its successor being built and decorated in the German baroque manner. The other buildings had been remodeled mostly as they appear today.
A century later the abbey was suppressed, with other Bavarian religious houses; but it was restored in 1904, and our Lady is still a resort of pilgrims. This great sanctuary has a truly magnificent mountain setting.
