Mariahilf pilgrimage church
The city priest and dean Nieberlein laid the foundation stone for the pilgrimage church on July 14, 1718 in the presence of many priests, the Capuchin convent and numerous citizens. The construction took a long time due to initial construction breakdowns and lasted from 1718 to 1727. The church was consecrated on February 11, 1725. The church is oriented to the south, 29 m long and 11 m wide. The tower was only completed around 1757 and houses a three-part bell.
The high altar, a work by Johann Ulrich Wiest from 1755, rises above a cafeteria with gilded rococo ornaments in a powerful altar architecture. A richly marbled frame architecture encloses the middle field. This contains the gilded tabernacle casing with a noble cross in the central niche; above it the Lamb of God in silver, which rests on the book with the seven seals, flanked by two putti and vases. The middle of the altar is visible from a field of silver clouds with many angel heads, and the preciously framed miraculous image is held by two angels. The picture shows Mary with the child. The miraculous image is flanked by two sculptures, Joachim on the left and Anna, Mary's parents, on the right.
The left side altar unfolds the suffering theme of the crucifixion of Christ in the Rococo altarpiece. To the left of the altarpiece is the figure of St. Johannes Nepomuk with cross, the second patron of the Upper Palatinate, to the right of St. Francis Xavier, the great missionary of the Jesuit order.
The right side altar shows on the altarpiece, which can also be attributed to the Rococo, the sorrowful Mother of God saying goodbye to her son before the burial. The right carved figure of the altar depicts John the Evangelist with a chalice, the left figure of Mary Magdalene with an ointment vessel.
The stucco ceiling contains three newer frescoes in the central axis: in the front yoke the depiction of the angel's annunciation to Mary, in the middle field a fresco of the birth of Christ, and in the rear yoke the depiction of the promised savior, seen by the fathers and prophets, with her offspring snake's head will be crushed.
Source: Excerpts from church guide Mariahilf pilgrimage church