Trachtenwallfahrt to Birkenstein

A Bavarian Traditional Pilgrimage with Over 100 Years of History

The Trachtenwallfahrt to Birkenstein was founded in 1923 by two Upper Bavarian costume groups who undertook a pilgrimage to the St. Mary's Chapel in Birkenstein in memory of the fallen of the First World War. What began as a small memorial act quickly developed into a fixed date in the costume calendar of the Bavarian Oberland. The pilgrimage had to be suspended between 1938 and 1947 — the Nazi era prohibited religious customs of this kind, and men and resources were scarce during the war. The tradition was resumed in 1948.

Schedule on Ascension Day

The meeting point is the Fischbachau sports field in the morning. From there, a pilgrimage procession sets off — led by the Oberlandler Gauverband I, followed by around 40 to 50 costume associations from southern Upper Bavaria. The participants wear the traditional farmer's costume, marksman's costume, festive dirndls, and traditional suits of their respective regions. Several music bands accompany the procession, with flag bearers and clergy in between.

Holy Mass at the Open-Air Altar

The highlight is the Holy Mass at the open-air altar in front of the Birkenstein pilgrimage chapel — a Baroque chapel founded in 1710 and a place of pilgrimage to St. Mary for the Leitzach Valley for centuries. In good weather, up to 2,000 pilgrims celebrate outdoors; in bad weather, the Mass moves into the chapel and the adjacent grounds.

Birkenstein, Fischbachau, and the Leitzach Valley

Birkenstein is a district of the municipality of Fischbachau in the Miesbach district. The Leitzach Valley is located at the foot of the Wendelstein, is part of the Bavarian Oberland, and belongs to the most traditional costume regions of southern Germany. The preservation of traditional costume, customs, and Alpine folk culture here is not folklore for tourists, but lived everyday culture — in the costume associations, the marksmen's companies, and the parishes of the valley.