Aufkirchen Way of the Cross

From the western shore of Lake Starnberg a steep path leads up to the pilgrimage church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary near Leoni. This was already used in the 16th century by pilgrims who had come by ship across the lake to pray to the Blessed Mother in Aufkirchen.In 1856, the royal architect Johann Ulrich Himbsel bought a small plot of land and built a Way of the Cross along the route. Himbsel was well known at the lake, having co-founded the Starnberg Steamship Company and initiating the Munich-Starnberg railway line. But he was also a devout Christian and when his wife and youngest son died of cholera, he donated the stations of the cross, which were inaugurated on July 16, 1857.The canonical fourteen stations were erected along the way and in 1882 Himbsel's son Franz put a Mount of Olives station ahead. The Resurrection, standing off the path in the forest, concludes the Way of the Cross. The chapel houses, which show a relief of the station in a segmental arched niche on the front and end with a gabled roof and cross at the top, stand on a meadow surrounded by low hedges. On the gable they have a medallion with the bust of John the Baptist and above it the station is indicated in Roman numerals. The reliefs are signed 'A. G.” and are by the Munich sculptor Anton Ganser, a student of Schwanthaler. They were made of terracotta and show the suffering of Jesus in a differentiated, plastic way in scenic representations.The Way of the Cross between Leoni and Aufkirchen is part of the Munich Way of St. James, which leads from the Bavarian capital via the monasteries of Schäftlarn, Andechs and Dießen to the Allgäu. Although a short section of the long way, it is all the more impressive and will be remembered.Source: Way of the Cross of the Assumption, Aufkirchen (erzbistum-muenchen.de)

The Stations of the Cross runs from Lake Starnberg to Aufkirchen Monastery. Instead of the usual 14 stations, this Way of the Cross has 16. It was laid out by the royal building officer Himbsel, who mourned the death of his wife and youngest son and was very religious.