Marien circular route

The Marien circular route begins at the parish church “Maria Himmelfahrt” in Marpingen. From there it continues to the well-known and significant site of Marian devotion in the Härtelwald. Marian devotion in Marpingen can be traced back to the 15th century. In July 1876, it reached a first, Europe-wide noticed peak when the Mother of God supposedly appeared to three eight-year-old girls of the village in the Marpingen Härtelwald. In the following period, many healings were reported, and Marpingen was soon called the “German Lourdes.” Since then, thousands of pilgrims visit the Marian site annually at the place of the “apparitions.” The Marien circular route continues to Rheinstraße, where the “Peace Cross” and the “Johannes Chapel” invite for contemplation. The “Peace Cross” was erected in 1995 by the residents of Rheinstraße as thanks for 50 years of peace in Germany. The pilgrim further follows this former Roman road to the wayside cross between Alsweiler and Winterbach, where the Marien circular route joins the Wendelinus pilgrimage route again. A few minutes’ walk from the Roman road lies the Hiwwelhaus, the oldest farmhouse in its original condition in southwest Germany. Before the pilgrim returns to the starting point at the parish church “Maria Himmelfahrt,” they pass the Marian spring (“Maieborn”), one of the oldest places of Marian devotion in Marpingen.