Holy Cross Church

A pilgrimage at this site has existed since about the year 1000. Before, there was a church dedicated to St. Gunthildis at this location. The building dates back to the 11th century and was consecrated by Bishop Gundekar. The current pilgrimage church, Holy Cross, is a new construction from the Baroque period, built in 1755/56 and completed by 1770. Belonging to the Diocese of Eichstätt, its builders and artists shaped the church standing on the left edge of the valley. The design and project management were led by the court and cathedral architect Giovanni Domenico Barbieri. The frescoes, partially repainted in 1901 and uncovered again in 1954, were painted by Johann Michael Baader, and the stucco work is by Johann Kaspar Aicher. The pictorial program is dedicated to the cross of Christ; the main painting in the nave depicts its finding in the year 320 by Empress Helena. The Baroque high altar, flanked by two angels, houses an altar painting by Willibald Wunderer, which represents the veneration of the cross by the four continents. The paintings of the side altars are by Baader.
The centerpiece of the church's mobile furnishings is a relic cross particle reliquary, newly framed in 1743, from the Romanesque period. The pilgrimage to the "miraculous holy cross in Schambach" has only been documented in writing since the 18th century. The miracle book was established in 1724; miracles have been recorded since 1797. Additionally, votive tablets bear witness to answered prayers. The baptismal font dates from 1591. Two of the three bells were cast by Friedrich Wilhelm Schilling in 1958.

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