Wallfahrtskapelle Maria Alber, Baroque pilgrimage chapel in Friedberg, Germany

The Maria Alber chapel is a baroque church in Friedberg featuring a copper-covered dome with an octagonal lantern. The interior contains four rounded apses arranged around a central square space, complemented by western arcades.

The pilgrimage tradition began in 1686 when customs officer Arnold Schwenkh placed a replica of the Altötting Madonna in a hollow tree. This sacred site later led to the construction of the baroque chapel that stands today.

The chapel houses a copy of the Altötting Gnadenbild, the object of veneration since 1686, when customs officer Arnold Schwenkh placed it in a hollow tree. The ceiling fresco by Johann Reismiller (1719) shows the donor kneeling before that image in the tree. Four large Wessobrunn-style stucco angels with outstretched arms appear to support the lantern ring, with small cartouches of Marian symbols between them.

The chapel stands west of Friedberg beside the old road to Augsburg, on the border with Augsburg-Hochzoll; politically it belongs to Friedberg, but the parish is Heilig-Geist in Augsburg-Hochzoll. The west porch was originally open and its arches were glazed in 1939, so the entrance area is enclosed. After the 1988 renovation the chapel is open again for prayer and visits.

The bell arrangement between the pilasters in open arches follows a southern European design pattern that is uncommon in this part of Germany. This detail shows how the builder incorporated southern architectural influences into the local building style.