Germany Guide
Northern Bavaria: Franconia
Vierzehnheiligen and Kloster Banz
Lonely and proud on its hilltop site overlooking the Main Valley on the northwestern edge of Fränkische Schweiz, the pilgrimage church of Vierzehnheiligen (daily: summer 6.30am–6.30pm; winter 7.30am–5.30pm) is one of the masterpieces of southern German late Baroque and Rococo. Standing on the pilgrims' route to Santiago de Compostela, the church replaced an earlier structure at the place where during 1445 and 1446 Hermann Leicht, a shepherd at the Cistercian abbey of Langheim near Lichtenfels, had visions of a crying child. The third time the child appeared to him, it was accompanied by the fourteen Holy Helpers – a group of saints whose intercession is often invoked in Catholicism – who told Leicht they wanted a chapel to be built on the site. Soon afterwards the first miracle was reported and the site became a place of pilgrimage.
Vierzehnheiligen was designed by Balthasar Neumann, the architect of Würzburg's Residenz. Construction began in 1723 but the church was not consecrated until 1772, nineteen years after Neumann's death. His plans were nevertheless adhered to, and the results impress long before you reach the twin-towered church, for it can be seen from a distance as you ascend from the valley. It is built of a particularly warm, gold-coloured stone, but even so the noble exterior is no preparation for the dazzling Rococo vision within, a symphony of white, gold and grey that is sure to lift your spirits, whatever your feelings about the legend that created it. The church is of cathedral-like proportions, its interior focused on Johann Michael Feichtmayr's central Gnadenaltar, built on the site of Hermann Leicht's vision and with statues of the fourteen helpers, some eye-catchingly gory: St Denis, patron saint of those with headaches, is portrayed with his head tucked under his arm; St Pantaleon, with his hands nailed to his head. In the Franciscan monastery next door, there's a multimedia show (daily: summer 8am–7.30pm; winter 8am–6.30pm; free) which picks out some of the exquisite architectural detail, and a shop where you can buy an English-language guide (€3).
Facing Vierzehnheiligen across the valley is the former Benedictine monastery of Kloster Banz, built from the same honey-coloured stone on a similarly commanding site high above the valley. It was designed by Leonhard Dientzenhofer to replace the previous abbey, wrecked by Swedish troops during the Thirty Years' War; the church (guided tours daily by appointment: May– Oct 9am–5pm; Nov– April 9am–4pm; donation requested; 09573/73 11) was consecrated in 1719, and its interior surprises because it is based on a series of ellipses. Though it's undoubtedly a fine piece of architecture, Banz doesn't dazzle the visitor in quite the way Vierzehnheiligen does, but if you're visiting Vierzehnheiligen with your own transport it's certainly worth a look. If you can't join a tour, the church is usually open as far as the grille; the rest of the abbey is a conference and education centre.