Wallfahrtskirche Maria Zell

Wallfahrtskirche Maria Zell stands below Zeller Horn mountain and offers direct views toward the towering Hohenzollern Castle. The structure is a Baroque church with distinctive architecture that reflects its long development and multiple changes over the centuries.

The church developed from a settlement called Zell, which grew from a monk's cell of St. Gallen Abbey founded in the region around 789. The present structure was built and expanded multiple times over the centuries to meet the growing needs of the pilgrimage community.

The church has been a pilgrimage destination since the 17th century, when a Madonna statue survived a devastating fire during the Thirty Years' War. Visitors come here to venerate this surviving statue, which became the focus of devotion.

The location sits below a mountain and requires a short climb to reach it. The church is usually open to visitors, especially when visiting on weekday afternoons when fewer people are present.

Inside sits a 12th-century bell weighing about 110 kilograms, making it the oldest bell in the region and still heard today. This rare bell is a relic from an earlier era and makes the structure a living museum of church history.

Location: Hechingen

GPS coordinates: 48.31750,8.98028

Latest update: December 8, 2025 21:03