Heuwinklkapelle, Catholic pilgrimage church on eastern hill in Iffeldorf, Germany.
Heuwinklkapelle is a pilgrimage church on the Heuwinkl hill east of Iffeldorf, built from 1698 by Wessobrunn Abbey to designs by Johann Schmuzer. Its square main room, 6.5 metres on each side, is expanded by four semicircular conches, giving the impression of a central rotunda. Shell-shaped half-domes rise above the conches, topped by a 22.7-metre onion dome with a lantern. A low, elongated west porch carries a ridge turret for three bells, and a two-storey sacristy stands on the south-east side.
A late Gothic Marian statue stood on the high altar of St. Vitus in Iffeldorf from 1275 to 1615, was removed, and in 1672 was placed in a hollow oak on the path to Tölz. After pilgrims multiplied, a wooden chapel was built around 1690; the Wessobrunn monastery, holder of the Hofmark since 1653, had the present chapel begun with the foundation stone laid on 21 November 1698 by Abbot Virgil Dallmayr. It was consecrated on 13 September 1701 by auxiliary bishop Johannes Eustache Egolf von Westernach.
The high altar holds the miraculous image of Mary as Queen of Heaven, crowned and holding a scepter, with the crowned Christ Child carrying an orb; both wear purple robes embroidered in gold and silver, and Mary stands on a crescent moon. The side altar on the north side is dedicated to Saint Leonard, patron of livestock and farmers, and shows Saints Magnus and Ignatius beside him.
The chapel is accessible to visitors throughout the year, with a simple entrance at the front of the hill. It is wise to bring sturdy footwear, as the path up to the structure can be steep and slippery, especially after rain.
The chapel owes its existence to a statue removed from Iffeldorf's parish church in 1615 and set up in a hollow oak in 1672; a copy of a 1694 votive panel in the vestibule shows pilgrims at that tree. The wooden chapel built around 1690 soon proved too small, prompting Wessobrunn Abbey to fund the stone church.
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