on religious travel: ❖ karol slowikowski
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Top Religious Sites in Europe From Ireland to Italy, holy places draw faithful Christians
Northern Spain’s Santiago de Compostela Cathedral, with its magnificent Baroque facade, houses the relics of St. James.
very year millions of people travel to see the Vatican. But Rome is not the end-all for religious tourism. Dozens of religiously significant cities and sacred shrines dot the vast and ancient landscape of Europe. The following list spotlights some of the most visited holy places on the continent, from its western seaboard to its eastern boundaries:
National Tourist Office of Spain
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1. FATIMA, PORTUGAL The Chapel of the Apparitions is built on the site of a Marian apparition that appeared before three peasant children in 1917. Every year since then on the anniversaries of the apparitions, May 13 and Oct. 13, the streets of Fatima swell with throngs of pilgrims who make their way to the holy site. Fatima (88 miles north of Lisbon) is
home to dozens of imposing churches and monuments. Shops selling religious souvenirs, hostels and hotels can be found throughout the city. (visitportugal.com, rt-leiriafatima.pt) 2. CAMINO DE SANTIAGO, SPAIN One of the oldest pilgrimage routes in the world runs through Northern LeisureGroupTravel.com
Spain, terminating at the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. This is the burial site of St. James, whose remains were transported from Jerusalem to Spain by boat. Pilgrimages to the area haven’t ceased since medieval times, and the route has enjoyed revived popularity since the 1980s. Traveling pilgrims can expect barebones accommodations along the Camino de Santiago, or Way of St. James. Monasteries provide hostels for travelers and ask for small monetary donations in return. Pilgrims should be aware that a special Credencial, or religious passport, is required to stay at a monastic hostel. American pilgrims need to register online in order to receive one (americanpilgrims.com, santiagoturismo.com)
only those educated in Armagh were fit to spread the gospel, so numerous educational institutions were founded. The seat of both Protestant and Catholic archbishops, Armagh is the most venerated of Irish cities. The main points of interest are St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Cathedral and St.
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3. LOURDES, FRANCE The largest pilgrimage site in France is Lourdes, which takes in some five million pilgrims a year. Lourdes gains significance from the apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes and is a site of numerous miraculous healings. The stream unearthed by Bernadette Soubirous in 1858 is believed to have special properties that heal the ailments of sick people. Tourists stay in one of 270 hotels in the city in order to visit the Sanctuary of Lourdes (commonly called the Domain). The Domain includes the Grotto where pilgrims can dispense Lourdes water from the taps, and 22 separate places of worship on 126 acres. (lourdes-france.org). 4. ARMAGH, NORTHERN IRELAND Armagh is a town with roots in Celtic paganism. When Christianity spread to the region in the 400s A.D., St. Patrick established his church there and Armagh became the ecclesiastical capital of the island. He decreed that LeisureGroupTravel.com
Patrick’s Anglican Cathedral. St. Patrick’s Trian, in a former church behind the tourist office, has exhibits on city history and St. Patrick’s writings. Armagh is going through an extensive city-center regeneration project, which includes upgrading all surfaces and adding new pedestrian walkways. (armagh.co.uk)
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5. EINSIEDELN, SWITZERLAND Einsiedeln gained popularity as a religious tourist destination thanks to its Benedictine Abbey, one of the most important pilgrimage sites in Switzerland. More than 100,000 religious tourists visit annually to see the statue of the Black Madonna in the abbey’s lavishly decorated Baroque church. Also on visitors’ agendas are Diorama Bethlehem, regarded as the world’s largest nativity display with 450 hand-carved figures, and Panorama Crucifixion of Christ, a giant circular painting. The town is about 25 miles southeast of Zurich. Geneva and Zurich have sites associated with Reformation leaders John Calvin and Ulrich Zwingli. (visit-einsiedeln.ch, myswitzerland.com)
Tourism Ireland
on religious travel: ❖
The spirit of St. Patrick pervades Armagh in Northern Ireland.
6. ALTÖTTING, GERMANY For more than 500 years this Bavarian town has been Germany’s most significant place of pilgrimage venerating the Virgin Mary. More than a million pilgrims a year visit the Chapel of Grace (built around 700) and its Black Madonna. As history tells it, a child drowned in a nearby river in 1489 and his mother took his body to the altar at the foot of a wooden statue of the Black Madonna. He was miraculously revived, and the news spread quickly across the country. The late Gothic, twin-towered Stiftskirche (Collegiate Church) and the Neo-Baroque St. Anna’s Basilica are two of many churches within walking distance of Chapel Square, where Pope Benedikt XVI celebrated Mass in 2006. Across from the Chapel of Grace is the New Ecclesiastical Treasury and Pilgrimage Museum, which is named for the Pope, a Bavarian who has been familiar with Altötting since childhood. Another draw is the Crucifixion Panorama, a 360-degree painting. (altoetting.de) 7. LUTHER COUNTRY, GERMANY Martin Luther has forever been embedded into history for sparking the
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Protestant Reformation. Travelers can follow in his footsteps in the states of Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia, a region deemed Luther Country. Reformation-related sites are located in Eisenach, Erfurt, Lutherstadt Eisleben and Lutherstadt Wittenberg. Luther spent the majority of his life in Wittenberg, the site of the Schlosskirche (Castle Church), where in 1517 he nailed his 95 Theses, or demands for reform, on its doors. He is buried inside below the pulpit. (visit-luther.com) 8. CZESTOCHOWA, POLAND The shrine to the Black Madonna at Jasna Gora Monastery attracts more than four million visitors a year. Its painting of the Black Madonna has been the subject of miracles including bleeding after being struck with a sword during a Hussite attack in 1430. The 800-year-old buildings around the monastery bustle with tourist commerce. (poland.travel/en-us) 9. MEDUGORJE, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA Apparitions of Mary have appeared before six children since 1981 in this Adriatic town and made the town a popular pilgrimage destination. The site annually attracts one million people, some of whom have witnessed visions in the sky including hearts and crosses around the sun. (medugorje.org) 10. ASSISI, ITALY Assisi, an Umbrian hill town north of Rome, is the birthplace of St. Francis. His influence is remembered in the Basilica of San Francesco of Assisi. Two castles dominate the town, both built in the Middle Ages. In early May the Festival Calendimaggio re-enacts medieval life with games, processions, dances, flag waving and theatrical performances. (umbria2000.it) LGT LeisureGroupTravel.com
Schynige-Platte cogwheel railway
Train travel in Switzerland. Switzerland’s public transportation network is second to none. It’s fast, efficient, frequent and connects even the most remote places. Explore Switzerland with a single ticket for trains, busses and boats: the Swiss Pass. Lucerne - in the heart of Switzerland. Lucerne has it all: the great transport museum, the first and the steepest cogwheel railways, a narrow-gauge panoramic train, and historic steamships on Lake Lucerne. Thanks to its attractions, its souvenir and watch shops, the impressive mountainous panorama and the nearby excursion mountains of the Rigi and Mt. Pilatus, the town is a destination for many travel groups on their journey through the Lake Lucerne Region. A train buff‘s paradise! Engadin St. Moritz UNESCO World Heritage site. The UNESCO World Heritage recognition of the high-altitude engineering wonderland through Switzerland’s Engadin Valley honors one of the most spectacular, technically innovative and harmonious narrowgauge railways. Since the extension of the road system through these passes,
the construction of the Rhaetian Railway and the Bernina Express, which reaches as far as Veltlin, Upper Engadin has been accessible to the entire world - and people from all over the world love this valley, which delights visitors with its incomparable nature at all times of the year. Sunstar Hotels - Alpine Emotions. Sunstar, founded in 1969, is the only genuinely Swiss Hotel Group, with nine first-class hotels nestled in the Alps and offering a total of over 1,670 beds in 915 rooms. Arosa, Davos, Flims, Klosters, Lenzerheide, Grindelwald, Zermatt and Wengen are the best-known resorts. Whether you come for a walking or winter sports vacation, to visit a spa center or to attend a meeting or other special event – at Sunstar Hotels, guests with varied interests will feel at home and enjoy “Alpine emotions”.
For information on Switzerland, please visit MySwitzerland.com/steam For bookings, call Rail Source International: 1-800-551-2085