Hundreds of horses are expected for the historic Willibaldsritt in Jesenwang. This time the pilgrimage is something special: For two years, the ride was only possible on a small scale due to the corona pandemic - and for the first time it has cultural heritage status in Germany.
Jesenwang (dpa/lby) - In a ceremonial procession, around 250 or more horses move through the middle of the late medieval pilgrimage church of St. Willibald in Jesenwang, according to a centuries-old custom. The Willibaldsritt in the Upper Bavarian district of Fürstenfeldbruck was included in the list of intangible cultural heritage in Germany this year. It has been in the Bavarian State Register of Intangible Cultural Heritage since 2020. In the past two years, the ride has only been on a small scale because of the corona pandemic.
The church was built in 1478 as a horse sanctuary. There the people asked for blessings for themselves and the animals. From 1709 onwards, a deadly plague raged in the area, especially among horses. In 1712, people came to Jesenwang from far away with their sick animals to ask Saint Willibald for help. They vowed to hold the pilgrimage every year if no more animals died. According to tradition, no more animals died from the disease.
Every year around July 7th - the anniversary of the death of St. Willibald von Eichstätt - the ride named after him takes place. Due to a lack of horses and because the church was in danger of collapsing, the ride was interrupted from 1973 to 1979. In the meantime, the church has been renovated on the initiative of the St. Willibald circle of friends.
