Basilicas in Germany—Northern Bavaria

I blogged about the following basilica on August 1, 2020.

• The Imperial Cathedral of Sts. Mary, Peter and Paul, and St. George in Bamberg.

Basilica of Our Lady of the Assumption, Staffelstein-Vierzehnheiligen

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Leo XIII in 1897.

This was the first church in current day Germany to be named a minor basilica.  It is popularly named the Basilica of the Fourteen Holy Helpers.  The Christ Child appeared with other heavenly children to a shepherd in 1445.  They wanted a church built so that pilgrims could ask for help with various diseases and ailments.  Churches were built and then destroyed in wars until the current church was built between 1743 and 1772.  It was designed using Baroque and Rococo styles by Balthasar Neumann.  The church deteriorated with German secularization after 1803 and was practically in ruins when in 1893, King Ludwig I commissioned the Franciscans to rebuild the church and restart the pilgrimages.  

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of the Holy Trinity, Gobweinstein

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XII in 1948.

A church has been in this location since 1071, but the current church was built in the mid-1700s.  It was designed by Balthasar Neumann using a Baroque style.  Pilgrims have long journeyed to the church to venerate a 1510 image of the Virgin Mary being crowned as Queen of Heaven by the Holy Trinity.  The image was carved from lime wood.  

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of SS. Peter and Alexander, Aschaffenburg

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XII in 1958.

The church was built between the 10th and 15th Centuries to replace an earlier church.  Initially built in a Roman basilica style, later renovations used Gothic, Romanesque, and Baroque styles.  The church has a 16th Century painting of Christ and a 10th Century crucifix.

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of St. Emmeram, Regensburg

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Paul VI in 1964.

A Benedictine abbey was established here in 739 and became known for its library.  The abbey closed in 1803 and its books and manuscripts were transferred to Munich.  The abbey buildings—all 231,000 square feet—became the residence for a German aristocratic family.  It is the largest private residence in Germany.  The Romanesque abbey church, now a parish church and a basilica, has been renovated many times, but portions date to the 11th Century.

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of the Nativity of Our Lady to the Ancient Chapel, Regensburg

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Paul VI in 1964.

The Old Chapel dates possibly to the 8th Century and is considered the Mother Church of Bavarian Catholicism.  It was built on the site of a Roman temple.  The current church on the same site dates at least to the 9th Century when it was established as a collegiate church.  Collegiate churches were more common in Europe and almost unknown in the United States.  Such a church serves a community of non-monastic clergy.  The original community here fell apart quickly after its establishment in 875 but was reformed in 1002 and the church was rebuilt.  The community exists to this day mostly of retired priests.  The church has had a variety of styles over the years but today employs the Bavarian Rococo style.

The first picture is from a local source and the other two are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady (Franciscan Church), Ingolstadt

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Paul VI in 1964.

The church was initially built as the abbey church for a Franciscan monastery in the 13th Century.  Originally Gothic, subsequent renovations resulted in a Baroque look.  Capuchin monks took over the church between 2006 and 2023.  There was concern that the church would close after the Capuchins left but a private group has saved the church for now.

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady and St. John the Evangelist, Waldsassen

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Paul VI in 1969.

A Cistercian monastery was established here in the 12th Century but was dissolved in 1556 with the ascendancy of Protestantism in the area.  With the return of Catholicism, Cistercian nuns reestablished the monastery in 1661.  The abbey church was built between 1685 and 1704 in a Baroque style.  The church is noted for its 12 relics of “catacomb saints.”

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of St. Martin, Amberg

Declared a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II in 1980.

This Gothic church was built in the early 15th Century to replace a Romanesque church.  It became a Protestant church in 1544 before returning to Catholicism a few decades later.  Renovations starting in 1628 were done in a Baroque style.  Renovations in the 19th Century were done in a neo-Gothic style. 

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of St. James, Straubing

Declared a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II in 1989.

The Gothic church was constructed between 1400 and 1512 and has 20 side chapels.  Its onion-domed tower was completed at the end of the 16th Century.  The neo-Gothic main altar dates to 1486, the Rococo pulpit to 1752, and some of the stained glass windows to the 15th Century.

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Marktleugast-Marienweiher

Declared a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II in 1993.

Pilgrims have come to this location since the 12th Century to venerate an image of the Virgin Mary.  A small chapel was replaced by two larger churches before the current church was built in the 1740s.

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of Our Lady Source for Consolation and the Ascension of Christ, Wemding

Declared a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II in 1998.

A shoemaker brought an image of Our Lady from Rome in 1680 which quickly attracted pilgrims.  A chapel was soon built but was replaced in the 18th Century by the current Rococo church.  Pilgrims also drink from a fountain associated with Our Lady.

The first picture is from TripAdvisor and the rest are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of Sts. Vitus and Deocar, Herrieden

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010.

This church was built as a collegiate church in 1071 and was expanded and renovated over the next several centuries.  Initially Gothic, it was given a Baroque makeover in the mid-1700s.  St. Vitus was an early Christian martyr.  St. Deocar, who is buried in this church, was an abbot and founder of the City of Herrieden.  He died in the early 9th Century. 

The first picture is from a local source and the rest are from Wikipedia.