Wallfahrtskirche

About

The Maria im Weingarten (Mary in the Vineyard) is a Catholic pilgrimage church situated above the Franconian wine town of Volkach on the Mainschleife in the district of Kitzingen, Lower Franconia. The Late Gothic church is located in the midst of the vineyards of the Franconian wine region on the Volkach Kirchberg (Church Hill). It houses a significant work of art by the woodcarver Tilman Riemenschneider.

As the oldest parish in the Mainschleife region, the pilgrimage church of Maria im Weingarten has a rich history. Threatened by wars and destruction over the centuries, it became particularly well known due to a spectacular art theft in the 1960s.

Proto-parish and Beguine Hermitage (to the 15th Century)

The origins are unknown, but it is assumed that the church on the hill served as the original parish church for the settlements on the Mainschleife [ de ] in the 10th and 11th centuries. This is supported by findings of a Carolingian - Ottonian church beneath the current structure. The villages of Volkach, Obervolkach, Eichfeld [ de ], Astheim [ de ], Gaibach, Krautheim, as well as Stammheim and Fahr belonged to the Kirchberg parish. A different church stood on the site of the current one at that time; it was dedicated to Saint Bartholomew and was first mentioned in 1245 as the church "de monte kyrhberc prope volka" (Lat. from the mountain Kirchberg near Volkach).

The 14th century brought a decisive change when a Beguine hermitage was established on the hill near the town. The lay religious women came from the dissolved Beguinage at St. John's Church in Großbirkach near Ebrach and reached Volkach in 1332. Until 1442, they cared for the sick and poor on the hill. During this time, the new church of St. Bartholomew and St. George [ de ] was built in the town itself, which soon took over the parish duties of the Kirchberg. Concurrently, an image of the Pietà created around 1370 gave rise to a pilgrimage directed towards the Volkach Kirchberg.

New Construction and Pilgrimage Church (to the 19th Century)

The pilgrimage was supported by a Marian brotherhood founded around the Prince-Bishop of Würzburg Gottfried IV Schenk von Limpurg [ de ]. In addition to the Bishop, it consisted of nobles such as the Counts of Castell [ de ], the Lords of Seinsheim, and the Zollner von Halberg [ de ] family, as well as citizens of Volkach. In 1442, they dissolved the Beguine house and pushed for the prompt construction of a new church. In 1447, the building was dedicated to Saint Mary. The Würzburg builder Kilian Reuter was recruited for the task; he completed the choir c. 1450. The 1451 consecration was performed by the Auxiliary Bishop Wichman of Bersabee.

The construction of the nave followed until 1457, again executed by master Kilian Reuter. He planned the building as a three-aisled hall church. However, the installation of a flat ceiling and its painting in 1499 by Master Ulrich resulted in a single-aisled hall structure. With the turn of the 16th century, the pilgrimage church lost its importance to Maria im Sand [ de ] in Dettelbach, and fewer pilgrims visited the church.

In 1521, those responsible attempted to attract more pilgrims with the Madonna of the Rosary by Tilman Riemenschneider ; this failed initially. Prince-Bishop Julius Echter von Mespelbrunn had the church repainted in 1610 and visited the site. In 1628, there were plans to establish a monastery on the Kirchberg, but the outbreak of the Thirty Years' War ended these efforts. However, the horrors of the subsequent war years revived the pilgrimage to the Kirchberg.

After the war, six monks again cared for the pilgrims, coming from the Franciscans, the Penitents, and the Capuchins. The Baroque redesign of the pilgrimage church began in 1664. These renovations concluded in 1724 with the Baroque altar, purchased for 120 fl. from the Abbey Church of Münsterschwarzach. In 1880, the church was altered when Neo-Gothic fittings were added to the interior. These were removed during a renovation in 1954/1955.

The "Madonna Robbery" and Art Pilgrimage (to Present)

On the night of August 6–7, 1962, thieves stole the Madonna of the Rosary and two other valuable pieces of the church's furnishings. In the process, they damaged the Madonna. A plea for help from Volkach notables was answered by Henri Nannen, editor-in-chief of the magazine Stern. He offered a ransom of 100,000 DM and promised the thieves that the police would not be involved. This promise brought him mixed reactions in the press; Die Zeit asked, "Does reverence for art sanctify a word of honor to crooks?", while the artist Oskar Kokoschka supported the action. Henri Nannen himself saw both the charitable aspect and the PR success for his publishing house.

The appeal in Stern on August 21, 1962 ("Give the Madonna back to the people of Volkach") was not answered by the thieves until two months later. In late October, a tip was received regarding the location of part of the loot; in return, the first half of the ransom was deposited. In early November, a tip followed regarding the location of the most valuable pieces, including the Madonna, near a country road by Großgründlach [ de ], and the second half of the ransom was deposited. The artworks were restored and returned to Volkach in 1963. Police investigations were eventually successful, and the thieves were arrested in 1968.

The pilgrimage church underwent extensive exterior restoration in 1976/77. In 2002, Cathedral Chapter Jürgen Lenssen [ de ] led a renovation of the church, restoring both the interior and the façade. The most recent renovation took place in 2010. The Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation lists the church building as an architectural monument under the number D-6-75-174-73. The church is part of the Franconian Marienweg [ de ].

The origins are unknown, but it is assumed that the church on the hill served as the original parish church for the settlements on the Mainschleife [ de ] in the 10th and 11th centuries. This is supported by findings of a Carolingian - Ottonian church beneath the current structure. The villages of Volkach, Obervolkach, Eichfeld [ de ], Astheim [ de ], Gaibach, Krautheim, as well as Stammheim and Fahr belonged to the Kirchberg parish. A different church stood on the site of the current one at that time; it was dedicated to Saint Bartholomew and was first mentioned in 1245 as the church "de monte kyrhberc prope volka" (Lat. from the mountain Kirchberg near Volkach).

The 14th century brought a decisive change when a Beguine hermitage was established on the hill near the town. The lay religious women came from the dissolved Beguinage at St. John's Church in Großbirkach near Ebrach and reached Volkach in 1332. Until 1442, they cared for the sick and poor on the hill. During this time, the new church of St. Bartholomew and St. George [ de ] was built in the town itself, which soon took over the parish duties of the Kirchberg. Concurrently, an image of the Pietà created around 1370 gave rise to a pilgrimage directed towards the Volkach Kirchberg.

The pilgrimage was supported by a Marian brotherhood founded around the Prince-Bishop of Würzburg Gottfried IV Schenk von Limpurg [ de ]. In addition to the Bishop, it consisted of nobles such as the Counts of Castell [ de ], the Lords of Seinsheim, and the Zollner von Halberg [ de ] family, as well as citizens of Volkach. In 1442, they dissolved the Beguine house and pushed for the prompt construction of a new church. In 1447, the building was dedicated to Saint Mary. The Würzburg builder Kilian Reuter was recruited for the task; he completed the choir c. 1450. The 1451 consecration was performed by the Auxiliary Bishop Wichman of Bersabee.

The construction of the nave followed until 1457, again executed by master Kilian Reuter. He planned the building as a three-aisled hall church. However, the installation of a flat ceiling and its painting in 1499 by Master Ulrich resulted in a single-aisled hall structure. With the turn of the 16th century, the pilgrimage church lost its importance to Maria im Sand [ de ] in Dettelbach, and fewer pilgrims visited the church.

In 1521, those responsible attempted to attract more pilgrims with the Madonna of the Rosary by Tilman Riemenschneider ; this failed initially. Prince-Bishop Julius Echter von Mespelbrunn had the church repainted in 1610 and visited the site. In 1628, there were plans to establish a monastery on the Kirchberg, but the outbreak of the Thirty Years' War ended these efforts. However, the horrors of the subsequent war years revived the pilgrimage to the Kirchberg.

After the war, six monks again cared for the pilgrims, coming from the Franciscans, the Penitents, and the Capuchins. The Baroque redesign of the pilgrimage church began in 1664. These renovations concluded in 1724 with the Baroque altar, purchased for 120 fl. from the Abbey Church of Münsterschwarzach. In 1880, the church was altered when Neo-Gothic fittings were added to the interior. These were removed during a renovation in 1954/1955.