Holy Chapel

The most important among the side chapels is the Holy Chapel in the northern upper storey of the Pilgrimage Church where the Andechs relics are kept.

The Holy Chapel was dedicated in 1472 and has a late Gothic reticulated vault. Thanks to the iron-clad entrance door, it remained unscathed by the disastrous fire of 1669. The door is secured by three crossbars, each with a lock. An artistic wrought iron grille was added to the chapel in 1672.

The rococo shrine altar from 1757 forms the room’s centrepiece. The relic monstrance, made in southern Germany around 1432/33, is stored in its centre. It encloses the heart of the Andechs relics, the three Sacred Hosts. Two of the hosts are said to originate from Pope Gregory the Great and depict the cross and a phalanx in the colour of blood. The third host with the monogram of Jesus in blood is said to go back to Pope Leo IX. Other well-known components of the collection of relics are a branch of the Crown of Thorns and a fragment of Christ’s reed sceptre.

Holy Chapel with open grille
Altar in the Holy Chapel
“Charlemagne’s Cross of Victory” (from Swabia around 1140). According to legend, it was delivered to Charlemagne by an angel. It then came into the possession of Count Rasso who later lost it in Hungary. Queen Gertrude of Hungary from the line of the Andechs-Meranians is said to have ultimately brought it to her family seat in Andechs.
“Cross of Elisabeth” with Mary, John and the symbols of the four Evangelists from around the year 1400. According to legend, Pope Gregory IX presented the cross to Elisabeth, landgrave of Thuringia.
“Wedding gown of Saint Elisabeth” made of Byzantine silk (11th/12th century)
“Golden Rose” – a gift from the Pope, possibly Nicholas V., to Duke Albrecht III.
Andechs Monastery Emblem