Church hill Bendern

Panoramic view of the "Kirchhügel" (church on the hill) Bendern with its historic church, surrounded by well-tended paths, trees and traditional architecture against an Alpine mountain backdrop.

Historically, the Schwurplatz square on the "Kirchhügel" (church on the hill) in Bendern symbolizes the beginning of modern-day Liechtenstein.

Description

In 1699, on the "Kirchhügel" (church on the hill) in Bendern, the subjects of the Lordship of Schellenberg paid homage to the new sovereign, Prince Johann Adam Andreas von Liechtenstein, who had bought the lordship from the Count of Hohenems.

The hill has probably been inhabited for 4000 years and a church may have stood there as early as the 6th century. The new Gothic-style parish church was consecrated in 1481. The rectory dates back to 1539.

The Marien-Lourdes Grotto in Bendern was created between 1896 and 1898 at the suggestion of the then parish priest of Bendern, Franz Xaver Häusle (*1841, †1921), in a hollow in the rock of the Kirchhügel. Towards the end of the 19th century, Marian or Lourdes grottoes were built in many places, modeled on the Massabielle grotto in the famous pilgrimage site near Lourdes in southern France.

Since its inauguration on August 7, 1898, the grotto in Bendern has served as a regional center of Marian devotion.