Weingarten BlutrittBlutritt Weingarten

The Weingarten Blutritt is an annual Catholic horse-mounted procession honoring the Holy Blood relic held at Weingarten's Abbey Basilica. Dating back over 900 years, it is one of Europe’s largest religious equestrian processions 1. Each year on 'Blutfreitag' (the Friday after Ascension Day), around 1,800 riders in formal attire (tails and top hats) participate, carrying a gold reliquary containing a drop of Christ’s blood from Mantua 1 2. The procession winds through the town and surrounding countryside, accompanied by thousands of pilgrims and spectators. The event underscores the region’s Baroque Catholic heritage and is attended by devout locals as well as visitors seeking spiritual blessing and local tradition.

The procession commemorates a relic that, according to legend, arrived in Weingarten monastery as a gift in 1070. The ritual has been held every year around Ascension since at least the 14th century, becoming a symbol of communal faith and local identity 1 2. Participants dress in Tailcoat and wear hats with wooden storks, reflecting medieval ecclesiastical pageantry. The event connects contemporary worshippers with centuries-old pilgrimage custom in Upper Swabia.