Bad Wurzach expects 1500 riders to the Holy Blood Festival. One of the largest equestrian processions in Europe also attracts thousands of pilgrims to the Ravensburg district.
Bad Wurzach (dpa / lsw) - Several thousand pilgrims and around 1500 riders are expected on Friday (7 a.m.) for this year's Holy Blood Festival in Bad Wurzach (Ravensburg district). The festival is the second largest equestrian procession in Central Europe. The kick-off is the "Blood Kick" with blessing. In the afternoon there will be a sermon on the mount in front of the pilgrimage church on the Gottesberg.
The focus of the festival is the veneration of a blood relic that came from the private collection of Pope Innocent XII. originates. According to legend, in 1693 the Pope gave a blood-soaked handkerchief to a German pilgrim from Albrechts near Obergünzburg. In 1764 the relic came to the Gottesberg near Wurzach.
