Altötting is a pilgrimage town with one of the most important Marian shrines in Germany. Since the 15th century, a statue of the Black Madonna has been worshiped here, through which pilgrims experience many graces, including miraculous healings.
The town at the foot of the Alps was founded at the beginning of the 8th century. This period is first mentioned about the local chapel, which used to serve as a baptistery. From around 1300, in the Chapel of Mercy, also known as the Chapel of Graces, there is a statue of the Black Madonna made of wood. The pilgrimage movement in Altötting intensified at the end of the 15th century, when, according to legend, the dead were resurrected here twice. Since then, it has been the main sanctuary of Bavaria and the whole country.
Within the sanctuary in Altötting there are many sacred and ancillary buildings, including the monumental St. Anne from the early twentieth century, which at the time of construction was the largest church in Germany. There are also historic churches of St. Philip and James and St. Magdalena.
Other highlights of Altötting include the sanctuary's treasury with many thanksgiving and religious monuments, as well as the Altötting Panorama Museum. It is a building that presents a panorama of Jerusalem from the time of Christ's crucifixion, painted in 1903 under the direction of Gebhard Fugel. An interesting place is also a movable nativity scene, one of the largest in Bavaria.
