First time visitors in the Wies, with no previous knowledge about the church, may well stand in wonder and ask themselves what could have possibly given rise to the building of such an unusually magnificent church in such a secluded place. Indeed, something out of the ordinary, from many points of view, took place here. Human tears, an age-old phenomenon, were the spiritual building stones, the precious pearls from which the Wies Church, a world famous rococo jewel, was created. In the 18th Century the Wies Church was already known throughout Europe as a place of reverence for the Scourged Savior, and at the same time a famous gem of baroque architecture. Out of the miracle of June 14, 1738, when tears were seen on the face of the Scourged Savior, there rapidly developed a pilgrimage of unexpected proportions. The pilgrimage has remained alive up to the present. Among the visitors from all over the world you will also find people in silent prayer. Even now new pilgrimages arise, such as a pilgrimage in the vicinity of Weilheim/Schongau, which each year brings about 1000 young people to the Wies. Interesting fact: Its architect, Dominikus Zimmermann, could not bear to leave this church, his most beautiful and complete work. Thus, he built himself a house almost at its door, where he lived until his death. In thankfulness for the happy completion of the church, he painted a votive tablet showing the pious master architect kneeling before the Scourged Savior. He signed it: "D.Z. Ex voto A. 1757". Every pilgrim and visitor to the Wies Church is rewarded by the magnificence and harmony of the wonderful song Zimmermann called forth in building the Wies Church. Come and praise Him, in this sacred place, come seek Him out in the Wies .Open - hearted, thank Him for His grace, for He offers us His Peace. Oh, my Jesus, fairest Jesus, fairest Jesus, in the Wies who so full of blessings is.When the visitor, in encountering the resounding four-tone chord of art, theology, light and music, experiences the total beauty of the Wies, he can experience what the builder of the church, Abbot Marianus II Mayer, expressed: "Hoc loco habitat fortuna, hic quiescit cor." (In this place abideth happiness, here the heart findeth peace).
Even today the church lives from both these wellsprings: its spiritual and artistic richness. Thus, the Wies Church continues as a pilgrimage church, a place of prayer and worship, and is simultaneously a magical drawing point for millions of visitors. Through their encounter with this joyous Baroque, full of life and hope, they sense a world which moved the writer Peter Dörfler, in the first half of this century, to write: "The Wies is a bit of heaven in this suffering world."
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