Lourdes Grotto
Pastor Schraml, who had been pastor in Utzenhofen since 1891, conceived the plan to build a Lourdes Grotto, similar to the Lourdes Grotto in France. He felt it was important to find many believers for this purpose.
So, a suitable location had to be found. After many suggestions, a cave on the Hummelberg, about 15 minutes from Utzenhofen, was chosen. The location seemed most suitable, as it was a natural rock cave that, however, had to be prepared for its new use. It was overgrown with impenetrable undergrowth and filled with rubble, boulders, and debris. The cave, called the "Goashöhle," was probably previously used to house and shelter goats during rainy weather.
A special supporter and co-founder was the then master carpenter Fink and his son Willibald, who was still present at a celebration in 1958 at the age of 74. It was thanks to them that the cave was cleared and cleared. Willibald Fink also reported that during the excavations to clean and expose the cave, a sacrificial altar was discovered at the entrance. It can therefore be assumed that it was a pre-Christian sacrificial site.
In March 1895, the initiator, Pastor Schraml, died unexpectedly and was thus unable to complete his work. His successor, Rev. Clemente, continued the work he had begun.
On December 8, 1895, the grotto was consecrated with "great ceremony and with numerous participation from the clergy and believers" from near and far. An artfully carved life-size wooden statue of the Virgin Mary and a figure of Bernadette were placed in the grotto. They come from the Munich studio Riesenhuber and are said to have cost a total of about 500 gold marks at the time.
Source: Excerpts from information board