Maria Bildstein, Catholic pilgrimage church at Benkner Büchel, Switzerland
The Maria Bildstein church stands at the summit of Benkner Büchel, a 605-meter hill formed by glaciers during the Ice Age in canton St. Gallen.
Johann Heinrich Jud carried a Marian statue to Benkner Büchel in 1519, leading to the construction of a stone shrine that marked the beginning of the pilgrimage site.
The pilgrimage site received independent status in 1879, separating from Benken parish and appointing Johann Rieser as the first dedicated pilgrimage priest.
The current church building, constructed in 1966, includes a covered tribune with 550 seats and remains under the care of the St. Otmarsberg Benedictine Abbey.
Between 1881 and 1883, Dekan Johann Anton Hafner created several grottoes on the pilgrimage grounds, comparable to the sacred mountains of the Baroque period.
Location: canton St. Gallen
Location: Benken
Inception: 1519
Address: Bildsteinstrasse 6 8717 8717
Website: https://mariabildstein.ch
GPS coordinates: 47.19240,9.02107
Latest update: March 13, 2025 08:07
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