Inside the Mary Immaculate parish church in Weerberg village, local people celebrate Herz-Jesu.; Austria.
Inside the Mary Immaculate parish church in Weerberg village, local people of the area celebrate Herz-Jusu with a big procession with colour guards, ‘Trachtenvereinen’ (traditional clothing associations) and music groups. The Herz-Jesu festival or the Sacred Heart fires is specific to the Tirol region of Austria and now only celebrated on the traditional Friday 12th June in the small village of Weerberg, close to Innsbruck. It was born out of the Napoleonic War. When in 1796, Napoleon's armies came closer and closer to Tirol, the area was made ready for war. Representatives met in Bolzano (South Tirol, Italy) and discussed how to proceed. It was decided that Tirol would commit to the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ (Herz-Jesu), to trust in God. From June 1, 1796, this feast day was celebrated with a solemn religious service, and then 80 years later, mountain fires were added to the festival. The fires are mainly a sign of gratitude and remembrance of the victory of the Tirolean National hero and freedom fighter - Andreas Hofer over the troops of Napoleon I and the Bavarian troops that were occupying the holy land Tirol. They prayed for help to the fire heart of the holy Jesus. And word was given that tribute will be paid every year. Since then Herz-Jesu-Feuer became a national Holiday. The fires take place on the second Sunday after Corpus Christi. Fires are often arranged in the form of a heart, crosses or the inscription INRI or IHS.
Size: 6013px × 4013px
Location: Austria.
Photo credit: © Robbie Shone / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: angle, austria, austrian, catholicism, celebrations, churches, color, culture, day, devotion, europe, group, herz-jesu, high, image, indoors, large, people, photography, religion, spirituality, tyrol, views, weerberg
