Jakobsweg Etappe von der Talbrücke Freisen Oberkirchen nach St. Wendel

This stage takes us from the viaduct in Freisen-Oberkirchen via St. Wendel-Hoof past the Wendelinushof, the Mission House and the Wendelinus Chapel to the Wendelinus Basilica in St. Wendel.

The stage begins at the most impressive structure in the municipality of Freisen, the valley bridge in Oberkirchen. Its 12 arches on 11 pillars extend over 275 m and span the Oster valley at a height of 30 m directly at the entrance to Oberkirchen. The viaduct is one of the largest stone bridges in south-west Germany.The Catholic Church of St. Katharina Oberkirchen is believed to date back to the 14th or 15th century. The church can be seen in all its glory as the Christian and cultural center of Oberkirchen.The W Weiselberg Nature Reserve is rich in natural beauty and impressive treasures. The Weiselberg is famous for the colorful mineral formation of the agates found there. The Mineralogical Museum in Oberkirchen and the Mineral Museum in Freisen exhibit some of the finds.

We pass the Wendelinushof with animal husbandry, workshops for the disabled, a market garden, restaurants and a market for regional products.

The route leads past the Fathers' cemetery and the Lourdes Grotto to the Mission House. Father Arnold Janssen founded the missionary society of the Steyl Missionaries in St. Wendel in 1898. The complex includes the ethnological museum and mission bookshop, the Arnold Janssen Grammar School and the Mission House Church.

St. Wendel was first mentioned in 496 AD as Basonvillaris. In the 6th century, Saint Wendelin, who belonged to an Irish-Scottish monastic movement, lived here. According to legend, he was the son of a king on his way to Rome to receive the royal crown, but settled in St. Wendel as a hermit. Today, the Wendelinus Chapel with a fountain dedicated to him stands on the exact spot where he plunged his staff into the ground during a great drought. We pass this on the way down to the town.

The name "Sankt Wendalino" was first mentioned in a document by Balduin von Luxemburg, the Archbishop of Trier, in the 14th century during the early medieval veneration of St. Wendelin. He wanted to develop the town into an economic and cultural center and so St. Wendel was granted market and town rights in 1332. Construction of the Wendelinusbasilika soon began, but it was not completed until 1460 in the late Gothic style. With the high dome of the west tower, it is a landmark of the city that can be seen from afar and is considered one of the most beautiful hall churches in Germany.The bones of St. Wendelin can still be found in the high tomb at the altar. An image of St. James with the shell is displayed on the side of the tumba. As an important pilgrimage church, it attracts numerous pilgrims, especially during the annual pilgrimage events at Pentecost and St. Wendelin's Week.</p