Top 20 Caves アンヴァイラー・アム・トリフェルスでの

This artificially created Marian Grotto features a statue of the Virgin Mary and a small enclosed spring. Since then, the grotto has been renovated several times, and the spring had to be re-enclosed to ensure its long-term preservation.

"The idea of building a grotto in the community forest and placing a statue of the Virgin Mary there came from Jakob Simon, who worked as a chaplain in Weyher in 1903/04. It was intended to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the proclamation of the dogma "Mary - Immaculate Conception" on December 8, 1854. According to church doctrine, Mary was born without the stain of original sin, which all other people carry through the guilt of Adam and Eve. [...] On Trinity Sunday, May 29, 1904, Pastor Adam Christmann consecrated the statue. Then the entire parish of Weyher went 'in solemn procession into the forest' [...]. In 1932/33, the Catholic Young Men's Association put the idea into practice and gave the complex its current appearance. On Kerwe Tuesday 1932, the young men began work on the grotto, which lasted until the spring of 1933. Blasting had to be carried out to expand the space in front of the grotto. [...] On Ascension Day, May 25, 1933, the inauguration was to be celebrated with a large festival, namely with the annual youth rally of the Catholic young men's associations of the Landau - Bad Bergzabern district. That year, the young men's associations celebrated the 600th anniversary of their main church, the Mariendom in Altenberg, and the church celebrated the 75th anniversary of the apparitions in Lourdes. To the initiators' amazement, over 3,000 young men accepted the invitation - normally around 500 people attended the rally. By taking part, they also wanted to demonstrate their rejection of National Socialism. [...] It was the last major Catholic rally in the southern Palatinate before the National Socialists banned all demonstrations of dissidents." Source and further information: Information board on site

This Lourdes Grotto is also a sign of solidarity between Catholics and Protestants in Dernbach: "Every Whit Monday, a Catholic service takes place at the Lourdes Grotto in Dernbach. The Protestant parish deliberately does not hold its own service on this day, but invites people to the service at the Lourdes Grotto." Source: https://www.bistum-speyer.de/bistum/oekumene/leitfaden/bewaehrte-praxisbeispiele/gottesdienst/gottesdienst-an-der-lourdesgrotte/

You can go up the narrow crevice to a small cave

Nice rest area and shelter from rain and wind

A cozy spot that also offers some shelter from rain or sun, or to just relax

It's really nice to sit here. It seems as if someone has built a small shelter here. Maybe children? I like it!

The narrow crevice ends in a small cave.