Almer pilgrimage

The Almer pilgrimage from Maria Alm at the Hochkönig over the Stone Sea to the Königssee goes back to the old belief that supernatural powers exert their strength particularly strongly at certain places. Pilgrimages or prayer walks are found in every major religion. Destinations are religious sites or holy places. The pilgrimage can have the character of a plea or a thanksgiving walk. Pilgrims often endure great hardships, as is the case with the oldest high mountain pilgrimage in Europe, the traditional "Almer pilgrimage" over the Stone Sea to the Bavarian Königssee. It is said to date back to the year 1635 when Salzburg citizens, as thanks for surviving the plague, were first on their way over the high mountains to St. Bartholomä at the Königssee in the name of the Lord. In 1688, the Bartholomä pilgrimage was first mentioned in writing when an open wooden boat, a "Landauer," capsized with pilgrims. 71 believers lost their lives. Every year on the Saturday after August 24 (Bartholomä Day), pilgrims walk over the "Stone Sea" from Maria Alm in the Salzburg region to St. Bartholomä at the Bavarian Königssee. Up to 2,000 hikers, musicians, yodelers, priests, locals, and guests take part in the strenuous 9-hour route through the cross-border high mountains.

Religious contemplation, self-experience, and sporting activity are the motivation to endure the hardships. Starting at 4 a.m., the journey begins in Maria Alm near Saalfelden. In the morning, a mountain mass is held at the Riemannhaus. The procession of the "Barthlomä walkers" then winds its way over the rocky high plateau. A rest is made at the Kärlingerhaus at Funtensee, where the Almer music band plays. Then it goes down over the more than 30 hairpin bends of the legendary Saugasse to the Hirschau peninsula in the Königssee with the pilgrimage church of St. Bartholomä for the final service. In sunny and hot weather, many take a swim in the Königssee or refresh themselves with a cold beer in the beer garden of the historic guesthouse St. Bartholomä after the hardships endured.