Edigna Lime Tree & Puch Emperor's Column

The village of Puch – located west of Fürstenfeldbruck on B 2 in the direction of Augsburg – has been part of the major district town since 1978. Nevertheless, it has managed to maintain its special character – not least due to the strong connection between the people of Puch and “their” blessed Edigna, a French king’s daughter who, according to legend, lived in the hollow lime tree next to the present church and has been greatly worshipped since her documented death in 1109.

She must have been strong-willed, this Edigna. According to legend, she was a princess, the daughter of King Henry I of France and his wife, Anne of Kiev. But she left her mother, father and brothers and fled from her marriage - to devote her life to God without marriage, it is said. She apparently could not or did not want to enter a convent. Perhaps she simply did not want to be sold off to an unknown person to forge alliances. So, she went on a pilgrimage.

Without an entourage, alone on a farmer's rambling ox cart, the noblewoman passed through Puch, the village "among the beech trees", around the year 1074. At that moment, the cock crowed on the cart and a bell rang as if by an invisible hand. Edigna took it as a sign to end the arduous and dangerous journey. She moved into the old hollow lime tree next to the church on the hill. There, she lived for around 35 years, poor but independent. People sought her help because she could heal wounds and could read and write. More than 900 years after her death, she is still invoked when people and livestock fall ill or possessions are lost.

A tree as a dwelling? Not so far-fetched, as the people in the surrounding area also lived in wooden huts at that time. A little imagination is needed, however, as age and storms have taken their toll on what was once a much thicker trunk of the summer lime tree. The part with the hollow had to be felled in 1047. As a result, there are no tree rings to determine its exact age. Estimates range from 500 to over a thousand years. The latter would mean that Edigna could have lived here. In any case, it is nothing short of a miracle that the new shoots already reach 20 metres into the air and bear dense foliage.

Since the 8th century, long before Edigna's arrival, there has been a church on this site. The current one was built in the 15th century in the late Gothic style and renovated in the Baroque style in the 18th century. The same pastel colours as in the abbey church adorn its interior. Frescoes and paintings depict the life and ascension of Edigna, who was never officially canonized. Her alleged remains rest in the glass shrine at the Edigna altar. Pilgrims thank her in votive tablets dating back to as far as 1693. Even the former Ukrainian head of state Viktor Yushchenko came and donated an icon to the "Daughter of Kiev".

Every ten years – most recently in 2019 – the so-called Edigna Games are held in her honour, with the entire village community participating. The Baroque furnishings of the church (1714-1724) can be attributed to Abbot Liebhard Kellerer from Fürstenfeld.

Situated at the entrance of the village, on the B 2, is the Kaisersäule (Emperor’s Column) and is a reminder of Emperor Louis the Bavarian who is said to have died there during a bear hunt in 1347.

Opening times

St. Sebastian pilgrimage church is open during the day.