Liebfrauenkirche, Catholic pilgrimage church in Westerburg, Germany

Liebfrauenkirche is a Catholic pilgrimage church on the Reichenstein hill near Westerburg, built of rough brown and grey rubble masonry with lighter stone trim. A square tower with narrow pointed windows carries a steep slate-clad octagonal spire and cross finial; the long nave has tall traceried Gothic windows and a smaller pointed doorway. Inside, the three-aisled neo-Gothic basilica has about 140 seats and 4 confessionals.

A Marian chapel was first built on the Reichenstein in 1310 by Reinhard I of Westerburg and called the Reinhardskapelle. Enlarged to its present size in the late 15th century, it was consecrated on 15 February 1498 by Archbishop Johann II of Baden of Trier. After the Reformation in the county of Leiningen-Westerburg the pilgrimage church was dissolved and fell into ruin. The present neo-Gothic basilica was consecrated on 22 September 1899.

Five brotherhoods existed at the church by 1498, among them those of St Anne and of St James; they organised pilgrimages to Westerburg from across the Rhineland. The high altar is a winged altarpiece: opened it shows nine scenes from the life of Mary, closed the five decades of the Sorrowful Rosary, with the Crucifixion in the centre visible in both positions.

The church is open daily, with different hours depending on the season. Visitors should check the current opening times in advance, as they vary between summer and winter months.

The church stands on the Reichenstein hill, and the site was already a pilgrimage destination in the Middle Ages. The Westerwaldquer railway, now closed, runs past the church. On 27 October 2013 a church service was broadcast from here on ZDF television.