Our Lady of Grünenwald

An old legend is entwined with the Madonna figure in the tiny chapel at Ueberstrass in the Largue valley. A small alley leads up to the church. During the week it is very peaceful. It is possible to relax quietly by the outside altar, in the shade of the lime trees. The Crowned Madonna and Child dates from the 15th century. It was found in the undergrowth by three peasant children. They handed the figure over to the Count of Friesen, a Knight Hospitaller, who erected a chapel to replace “the ruin of a pagan temple” that once stood there. The site was ransacked during the French revolution but the Madonna was removed just in time and placed in safe keeping in Buesserach in Switzerland, where it remained until the chapel had been restored. In the course of the First World War the chapel was destroyed. On Easter Monday, 1932, the statue was finally able to re-take its place high above the main altar in the newly constructed chapel. It remains a popular pilgrimage destination, especially in May and on the feast days. The vestry is decked with votive offerings from people who have been blessed by their visits.