At the Gnadenkapelle (Chapel of Grace), in the town of Altötting in the state of Bavaria, Germany

 For more than 500 years, this Bavarian town has been one of Germany's most important places of pilgrimage, venerating the Virgin Mary.

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(in the "heart of Bavaria and one of the hearts of Europe'). That is how Pope emeritus Benedict XVI describes the pilgrimage site of Altötting. Indeed, the town has been the spiritual center of Bavaria for more than 1,250 years and the most important Marian pilgrimage site in Germany for some five centuries Indeed, Altötting is one of the “Shrines of Europe” (the seven most important Marian pilgrimage sites in Europe). The capital of the Altötting district of Germany. has since been the scene of religious pilgrimages by Catholics in honor of Mary, including a visit by Pope John Paul II in 1980 and one by Pope Benedict XVI in 2006.

+ During the Carolingian period, there was a royal palace here. Nearby, King Carloman erected a Benedictine monastery in 876, with Werinolf as first abbot, and in 907, he also built the abbey church in honor of the Apostle St. Philip. However, King Louis the Child granted the abbey in commendam to Burchard, the Bishop of Passau (from 903-915). In 910 the Hungarians ransacked and burnt the church and abbey. In 1228 Duke Louis I, Duke of Bavaria rebuilt those buildings and placed them in charge of twelve Canons Regular, headed by a provost. The canons remained until the secularization of the Bavarian monasteries in 1803.

+ This town is famous for the Gnadenkapelle (Chapel of Grace), one of the most-visited shrines in Germany; it is a tiny octagonal chapel that keeps a venerated statue of the Virgin Mary. According to the legend, in 1489, a 3-year-old local boy (who had drowned in the river) was revived when his grieving mother placed him in front of a wooden statue of the Virgin Mary at the high altar. News of the miracle quickly spread, and the chapel was immediately extended by the erection of a nave and a covered walkway.

+ In the Treasure Vault of the Holy Chapel of Altötting is the Golden Horse, or "Goldenes Rössli", a high altarpiece made of gold and gilded silver, with golden figures coated with different colored enamel. It depicts the Virgin Mary with the Christ Child, and, as children, John the Baptist, John the evangelist. and St. Catherine. In the foreground is King Charles VI of France. (This masterpiece of the goldsmith's craft was a gift from Isabeau, Queen of France, a member of the Wittelsbach Bavarian royal family.The tradition of Bavaria calls for the heart of the deceased king to be placed in an urn and kept at the chapel at Altötting. The heart of King Ludwig II of Bavaria, the builder of Neuschwanstein castle, lies in this chapel, along with those of his grandfathers and father.

+ Other architectural highlights in the town are the twin-towered Stiftskirche, a late Gothic church erected in the early years of the 16th century in order to cater for the growing affluence of pilgrims, and the huge Neo-baroque Basilika, which was built at the start of the 20th century.