Basilica of St. Ann, Altötting, Catholic basilica in Altötting, Germany.
The Basilica of St. Ann is a neo-Baroque church in Altötting, Bavaria, designed by Johann Baptist Schott and modeled on the convent church of Fürstenfeld. It is 83 m long, 24 m high, and 27 m wide, with a facade divided into three levels. Four-meter statues of Christ's ancestors Adam, Abraham, Jesse, and David, carved by Sebastian Osterrieder in 1912, stand on the lower level, and a relief of St. Ann with Mary and the Christ Child crowns the gable.
Construction of the basilica began in 1910 and was completed in 1912, after about two and a half years, to accommodate the pilgrims arriving since Altötting was connected to the railway. It was designed by Johann Baptist Schott in neo-Baroque style, modelled on the convent church of Fürstenfeld, and consecrated on 13 October 1912 by Sigismund Felix von Ow-Felldorf, Bishop of Passau. In 1913 Pope Pius X raised it to the rank of minor basilica.
The basilica is dedicated to St. Ann, the mother of Mary, whose veneration has deep roots in Bavarian folk devotion. Inside, altars and artworks dedicated to her reflect the strong local tradition of pilgrimage that defines Altötting as a whole.
The basilica is located in the center of Altötting, within walking distance of the town's other pilgrimage sites. Visitors should dress modestly, as the church is an active place of worship.
The entire construction was financed through donations from believers across Bavaria, without any public funding. This kind of community-driven financing was rare for a building of this scale in early 20th-century Germany.
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