St. Bartholomew's Church

St. Bartholomew's is a Roman Catholic pilgrimage church in the Berchtesgadener Land district of Bavaria in Germany. It is named after Saint Bartholomew the Apostle , patron of alpine farmers and dairymen. The church is located at the western shore of the Königssee lake, on the Hirschau peninsula. It can only be reached by ship or after a long hike across the surrounding mountains.
A first chapel at the lake was built in 1134 by the Provosts of Berchtesgaden. In 1697 it was rebuilt in a Baroque style with a floor plan modeled on Salzburg Cathedral, two onion domes and a red domed roof. The church features stucco work by the Salzburg artist Joseph Schmidt and a three-apse choir. The altars in the apses are consecrated to Saint Bartholomew, Saint Catherine, and Saint James respectively.

An annual pilgrimage to St. Bartholomew's is held on the Saturday after 24 August, starting from the Austrian municipality of Maria Alm and crossing the Berchtesgaden Alps.

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