Shrine of Our Lady of Altötting

[1] The octagonal chapel which houses the image of Our Lady dates to about A.D. 660, and is the oldest Marian shrine in Germany.

The image of Mary venerated there is a Black Madonna of great antiquity (possibly about 1330), carved from lindenwood.

Also to be seen are the small, silver urns in which many members of the German high nobility would have their hearts placed after their deaths to be brought here.

One member of the Order, Brother Conrad of Parzham, OFMCap, (1818–1894) served there as porter for over 40 years.

[1] On 11 September 2006, Ratzinger, newly elected as Pope Benedict XVI, returned to the shrine and donated the episcopal ring he had worn while he was the Archbishop of Munich.