The best city hikes and walks around Zeller Forest

A wooden church in Holzkirchen! "For architect Wimmer, wood was the building material of choice. Not only is wood from sustainable forestry and local forests completely climate-friendly, but concrete and steel would not have been suitable for this project anyway for various reasons. The support-free, conical spatial shells could be realized much more cost-effectively using wood. Furthermore, wooden buildings typically convey a sense of security and grounding. The wood comes from regional sources. The construction was primarily made of glulam from Central European forests, primarily spruce. The conical roofs were clad with larch shingles, and the timber framing nodes are made of beech. Where fire protection had to be considered or design aspects were crucial, oak was used." (https://www.bauwerk-perspektiven.de/architekturfotografie-st-josef-kirche-holzkirchen/)

This beautiful chapel is directly connected to the cemetery wall…

A large war memorial stands in a prominent location on the market square in Holzkirchen (Upper Bavaria) just below the St. Laurentius Church. The memorial is designed as a fountain with a water basin. A soldier kneels on a pedestal in the middle, with a child at his side. The memorial was erected in 1923 with a bronze name plate. After the Second World War, two similar plaques were added. Below is a small memorial plaque for the 402nd Cycling Battalion. Source and further information http://www.denkmalprojekt.org/2024/holzkirchen-dkm_lk-miesbach_wk1_wk1_by.html

Justification for the coat of arms: The church surrounded by fir trees creates an image that fully speaks for the place name: church in or on the wood (old Bavarian for forest). Holzkirchen was the market town of the Tegernsee monastery with only minimal self-government rights. The first market seal from the 16th century shows a church with a pointed tower in a naturalistic forest, with stars above it. In the 18th century seal, the church tower has an onion dome, the forest only has two trees; a growing angel hovers above the church. In the oldest coloured depictions of the coat of arms (1562, 1568), a diamond shield head was added to the seal. In 1812, the market town's coat of arms stated that a church with a pointed tower in a naturalistic forest was its coat of arms. In 1818, the Miesbach district court declared that the market town had never had a coat of arms. Hupp (1912) gives the old market seal as the town's coat of arms. It was not until 1929 that the market town of Holzkirchen received permission from the Ministry of the Interior to use a coat of arms. The design of the coat of arms was based on the oldest market seal (church with a gable roof, three trees). This coat of arms has been in use since 1929. Source and further information https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holzkirchen_(Oberbayern)

Autumn also has its charm due to its play of colors.

As we all know, art is in the eye of the beholder.... I'll leave it at that.

To relieve the pressure on St. Laurentius Church, St. Joseph's Church was built near the train station right next to the parish hall in the early 1960s. The parish hall had already been used regularly for church services before then. The church, which is striking with its tent-shaped construction and large patterned glass wall, was inaugurated in 1962. Unfortunately, the construction of the heavy wooden roof and the load-bearing concrete walls proved to be not very durable. Due to the risk of collapse, the church had to be closed in November 2011, so that the 50th anniversary celebration could no longer be held in the church building. The church is named after the carpenter Joseph of Nazareth. He was Mary's fiancé and thus became Jesus' foster father. Because of the pregnancy, Joseph temporarily doubted Mary's faithfulness, but stayed with her after an angel appeared to him in a dream. The New Testament provides very little information about Joseph's life. In autumn 2014, the deconsecrated building was demolished and will be replaced by a new building in 2016. The first service in the new St. Joseph's Church is scheduled to take place at the end of 2017. Only the surviving church tower reminds us of the original St. Joseph's Church. Source and further information http://www.unterwegs.alpfanti.de/index.php/themen/holzkirchner-kirchen-und-kapellen.html

The current cemetery chapel was built in 1639 as a so-called plague chapel. In 1807, the cemetery was moved from the church of St. Laurentius to the chapel. Our dear women" or "our dear lady" refers to the Mother of God Mary, who plays a central role in the Catholic Church. She is the namesake of many churches and chapels (see also the chapels of St. Maria in Heignkam and St. Marien in Marschall as well as the Church of the Visitation of Mary in Großhartpenning). Source and further information http://www.unterwegs.alpfanti.de/index.php/themen/holzkirchner-kirchen-und-kapellen.html