Birnau pilgrimage church

The Birnau pilgrimage church is a Baroque pilgrimage church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary (Assumption of Mary on 15 August and Visitation on 2 July) on the northern shore of Lake Constance (the Überlinger See) between Nußdorf and Uhldingen-Mühlhofen in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It lies in the hamlet of Birnau on the western section of the Upper Swabian Baroque Route, directly below federal highway B 31. Built between 1746 and 1749 by the Vorarlberg master builder Peter Thumb for Salem Abbey, it is famous for its rich Rococo decoration: frescoes by Gottfried Bernhard Göz, and also stucco work, altars and sculptures by Joseph Anton Feuchtmayer. Since 1946 Birnau has also served as the parish church for Deisendorf and Nußdorf. In 1971 it was raised to a minor basilica by Pope Paul VI. The former monastery buildings in front of the church, with their distinctive bell tower, now house a priory of the Cistercian Territorial Abbey of Wettingen-Mehrerau.