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Awayside shrine is a religious image, usually in some sort of small shelter, placed by a road or pathway, sometimes in a settlement or at a crossroads, but often in the middle of an empty stretch of country road, or at the top of a hill or mountain. They have been a feature of many cultures, including Chinese folk religious communities, Catholic and Orthodox Europe and some Asian regions.
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Wayside shrines were often erected to honor the memory of the victim of an accident, which explains their prevalence near roads and paths; inCarinthia, for example, they often stand at crossroads. Some commemorate a specific incident near the place; either a death in an accident or escape from harm. Other icons commemorate the victims of theplague. The very grand medieval EnglishEleanor crosses were erected by her husband to commemorate the nightly resting places of the journey made by the body of QueenEleanor of Castile as it returned to London in the 1290s. Some make it clear by an inscription or notice that a specific dead person is commemorated, but most do not.
Wayside shrines were also erected along old pilgrim routes, such as theVia Sacra that leads from Vienna toMariazell. Some mark parish or other boundaries, such as the edge or a landholding, or have a function as convenient markers for travelers to find their way. Shrines andcalvaries are furthermore frequently noted on maps and therefore represent important orientation aids.
The pre-Christian cultures of Europe had similar shrines of various types; manyrunestones may have been in this category, though they are often in the nature of a memorial to a dead person. Few Christian shrines survive in predominantly Protestant countries, but they remain common in many parts of Catholic and Orthodox Europe, often being repaired or replaced as they fall into disrepair, and relocated as roads are moved or widened. The most common subjects are a plain cross or acrucifix, or an image of theVirgin Mary, but saints or other scenes may also be shown. The surviving large stonehigh crosses ofCeltic Christianity, and the related stoneAnglo-Saxon crosses (mostly damaged or destroyed after theProtestant Reformation) are sometimes outside churches, but often not, and these may have functioned aspreaching crosses, or in some cases just been wayside shrines. Thecalvaires ofBrittany in France, are especially large stone shrines showing theCrucifixion, but these are typically in villages.
In Greece they may be calledkandilakia (Greek: καντηλάκια) or εικονοστάσιο στην άκρη του δρόμου (ikonostásio stin akri tu drómu, literally "shrine at the roadside"). They are commonly built in the memory of a fatal car accident and usually include a photograph of the victim(s), their namesake Saint and sometimes personal items. They may also be built from car accident survivors thanking the saint who protected them.
Poland is one of the few European countries where the custom of singing Maytime hymns,majówki, at wayside shrines still survives.[1]
Wayside shrines exist throughout India alongside other features of public faith, includinglingams,ghats, and kunds.[2] This creates what is described by Vinayak Bharne as afaithscape, a human landscape defined by the role of religion in the public sphere.[2] The majority of these shrines are Hindu, and their public nature and rootedness to place leads them to be described as key expressions of working-class religiosity.[3] Wayside shrines provide meeting points for the micro-communities who partake in religious practice as well as maintenance of the objects. Their presence within an increasingly urban environment creates a "parallel urbanism" which refutes secular notions of religion ebbing away as a society becomes more developed.[2]
Wayside shrines are found in a variety of styles, ranging from simpler column shrines andSchöpflöffel shrines to more elaborate chapel-shrines. Some have only flat painted surfaces, while other shrines are decorated with reliefs or with religious statues. Some feature a small kneeling platform, so that the faithful may pray in front of the image. A common wayside shrine seen throughout the Alpine regions of Europe, especially Germany, Austria and northern Italy, is the Alpine style crucifix wayside shrine. This style often has elaborate wood carvings and usually consists of a crucifix surrounded by a roof and shelter.
A column shrine[4] (German:Bildstock, alsoMarterl,Helgenstöckli, orWegstock;Slovene:slopno znamenje;Lithuanian:koplytstulpis) normally resembles a pole or a pillar, made either of wood or of masonry, and is sometimes capped with a roof.[5] The Austrian/south German designationMarterl hearkens back to theGreekmartyros 'martyr'. In a setting resembling atabernacle, there is usually a picture or a figure of Christ or a saint. For this reason, flowers or prayer candles are often placed on or at the foot of the shrine.
In Germany, they are most common inFranconia, in the Catholic parts ofBaden,Swabia, in the Alpine regions and Catholic areas of the historical region ofEichsfeld and inUpper Lusatia. In Austria, they are to be found in the Alpine regions, as well as in great numbers in theWeinviertel, theMühlviertel and in theWaldviertel. There are also similar structures in theSouth Bohemian Region and theSouth Moravian Region. In Czech, column shrines are traditionally called "boží muka" (= divine sufferings).
In theEifel in particular, shrines that consist of a pillar with a niche for a depiction of a saint are known asSchöpflöffel (German for 'ladle' or 'serving spoon'). Some of these icons date from theLate Middle Ages, but for the most part were put up in the 16th century.
NearArnstadt inThuringia, there is a medieval shrine that is over two metres tall and that has two niches. According to a legend recorded byLudwig Bechstein, this shrine was once a giant’s spoon, and it is therefore known as theRiesenlöffel.
Chapel-shrines, built to resemble a small building, are common in Slovenia. They are generally too small to accommodate people and often have only a niche (occasionally, a small altar) to display a depiction of a saint. The main two varieties generally distinguished in Slovenia are the open chapel-shrine (Slovene:kapelica odprtega tipa, odprti tip kapelice), which has no doors, and the closed chapel-shrine (kapelica zaprtega tipa, zaprti tip kapelice), which has a door.[6] The closed chapel-shrine is the older form, with examples known from the 17th century onward. The earliest open chapel-shrines date from the 19th century.[7] Also known in Slovenia are the belfry chapel-shrine (kapelica - zvonik) and the polygonal chapel-shrine (poligonalna kapelica).[8]
Chapel-shrines, known askapliczka, are also often found in Poland.
In theCzech Republic, chapel-shrines are calledvýklenková kaple 'niche chapels' and are characterized as a type of chapel (kaple) in Czech.[9] InMoravia, they are also calledpoklona 'bow, tribute'.
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