Selpritsch: Wayside Shrine of the Virgin Mary and Marian Pilgrimage Route

In Selpritsch, the wayside shrine of the Virgin Mary, the branch church, a memorial stone in the local cemetery and the Marian pilgrimage route offer different insights into architectural styles, church history, remembrance and route planning. Historical reference points include a purported construction date around 1810 and a skirmish in 1944. When planning your trip, you can explore both cultural and historical details and practical route descriptions.

Wayside Shrine of the Virgin Mary: Architectural Form and Imagery

The wayside shrine of the Virgin Mary in Selpritsch is a broad-pillar shrine with a gabled roof covered in wooden shingles. A large niche with a red-painted surround is a central architectural feature. The surround is the frame around an opening; here, its red color sets the niche apart from the rest of the structure. In the niche, the shrine depicts the crowned Virgin Mary with a scepter and Child, as well as an IHS monogram for Jesus. The exterior walls show Saint Anthony the Hermit, Saint Florian and Saint Christopher. The layout offers a simple viewing sequence: first the image in the niche, then the saints on the exterior walls.

The wayside shrine was purportedly erected around 1810, after the French Wars, to commemorate fallen soldiers. Its architectural features and this uncertain account of its origins offer two different ways to approach the shrine: its specific design and the commemorative purpose attributed to it.

Church and Memorial Sites

The exterior and interior of the branch church in Selpritsch were renovated in several phases during the 1970s and 1980s. These works took place well after the shrine’s purported construction around 1810 and represent a distinct, later period.

A memorial stone in the Selpritsch local cemetery commemorates the victims of both World Wars and the Carinthian Freedom Struggle of 1918 to 1920. On November 20, 1944, a skirmish took place in Selpritsch between partisans and the local gendarmerie, the Wehrmacht and the Home Guard. The two memorial references differ in scope: the stone commemorates several conflicts, while the skirmish was a single, precisely dated event involving the named parties.

The Marian Pilgrimage Route and Its Churches

The Marian pilgrimage route reaches the village church in Selpritsch via the so-called Augsdorf Forest Path and Selpritscher Straße. The section between Augsdorf and Selpritsch is listed as 3.3 km long. When planning your trip, it is important to note that this distance refers to that section, not necessarily to the entire pilgrimage route. The named paths and destination make the route easy to follow.

From Selpritsch, the Marian pilgrimage route heads west along a meadow and forest path to Rosegger Landesstraße, then continues to the branch church of St. Lambrecht. In addition to the distance given for Augsdorf–Selpritsch, this description specifies a direction, different sections of the route and another destination.

During a hiking day organized by the parish association, the group of pilgrims passed the branch church in Selpritsch (St. Andrew); the church greeted them with the ringing of its bells.

Selpritsch on Another Route

The “Villacher Alpenstraße from Lake Wörthersee” route passes through Velden, Selpritsch, Rosegg, Finkenstein, Warmbad-Villach, Möltschach, the Villacher Alpenstraße, Villach, Lake Magdalensee, Zauchen and Wernberg, before returning to Velden. Selpritsch falls between Velden and Rosegg on this itinerary; the route then continues through the other named places before returning to Velden. This sequence of places differs from the Marian pilgrimage route description, which names specific paths and gives a 3.3 km section.

Discover more destinations: Pölling, Äußere Einöde, Laastadt, Stöcklweingarten, Schloß Treffen, Innere Einöde, Gummern, Riegersdorf.

For the broader travel overview: Villach.