Votivgaben#

Votive Gifts, objects vowed ("ex voto") as an expression of gratitude or by way of prayer for assistance, placed on altars or before the statues of saints and "offered up" in (mostly pilgrimage) churches. Donors ask for protection, blessings and good health for themselves, their family or livestock, or give thanks for blessings received. Votive offerings are made from iron, wood, clay or wax, textiles or (precious) metal (such as silver). Motifs include symbolic representations of human organs and figures, animals, and more recently even motor cars. The best known votive offerings are votive tablets or images representing the saint or saints being asked for their protection, and indicating the donor(s) and the occasion on which the offering was made, often with informative inscriptions or at least a date. Votive images are at the same time manifestations of Popular Art and important sources of information on regional costumes ( Trachten). - Votive gifts have mostly become obsolete, but are found in great numbers in the treasuries of pilgrimage centres.

Literature#