"Wies - Germany" a Wies Travel Page by TinKan

The first time visitors in the Wies, with no previous knowledge about the church, may well stand in wonder and ask themselves what could have possibly given rise to the building of such an unusually magnificent church in such a secluded place.

Indeed, something out of the ordinary, from many points of view, took place here. Human tears, an age-old phenomenon, were the spiritual building stones, the precious pearls from which the Wies Church, a world famous roccoco jewel, was created. In the 18th Century the Wies Church was already known throughout Europe as a place of reverence for the Scourged Saviour, and at the same time a famous gem of baroque architecture.

Even today the church lives from both these wellsprings: its spiritual and artistic richness. Thus, the Wies Church continues as a pilgrimage church, a place of prayer and worship, and is simultaneously a magical drawing point for millions of visitors. Through their encounter with this joyous Baroque, full of life and hope, they sense a world which moved the writer Peter Dörfler, in the first half of this century, to write: "The Wies is a bit of heaven in this suffering world."