Our Lady of the Ossenweg
Ossenwegstraat
3440 Ossenweg (Zoutleeuw)
Chapel | XVI | Gothic | Catholic Church
Map
Opening hours
01 January - 31 December
Mon 8.00 - 19.00
Tue 8.00 - 19.00
Wed 8.00 - 19.00
Thu 8.00 - 19.00
Fri 8.00 - 19.00
Sat 8.00 - 19.00
Sun 8.00 - 19.00
Guided tour
Religious offices
Description
This chapel, dating from 1538, is in the hamlet of Ossenweg on the border of the provinces of Brabant and Limbourg.
According to legend, the miraculous statue of the Virgin in this chapel came from the chapel of Castelberg. The 16th century statuette was discovered while ploughing a nearby field. It was hung on an oak and soon this place became a growing centre of veneration. A small chapel was built in 1536-1538 to shelter the statue .Due to the growing number of pilgrims the small building has been enlarged over the centuries. This pilgrimage site to the Virgin is open every day.
The provincial domain of “Het Vinne”with its park and lake is close by.
The chapel in Ossenweg (NL)
Tourism Zoutleeuw (NL)
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Remarkable elements
Origin of the chapel
This partly Late-Gothic chapel, of which the oldest part dates back to the 16th century (1536-1538), has been a well-known pilgrimage site of Our Lady Mary for many centuries. The oldest section of the chapel probably wasn’t much bigger than the contemporary choir. In Maria's Brabant, published in 1632, Wichmans tells us that the chapel was widely known forthe many favours asked from and given by Our Lady. On the Ossenweg pilgrims used to sacrifice a kilo of salt to stop little children from wetting their beds. Today this ancient chapel of Mary is still a place of silence and repentance, of prayer and solace in a restless world.
Portico altar
The portico altar in the choir is dedicated to Our Lady. In the portico we can see a painting of the Adoration of the Shepherds (Flemish School, ca. 1765, canvas). On the base of the statue of Our Lady of the Ossenweg we can see a team of an ox and a plough, which refers to the origin of the chapel. The legend tells us that originally a little figure of Mary hung here on an oak tree by the side of the road, which had been dug up bya local farmer plowing.
Statue of Our Lady with Child
This statue can be found on the right near the entrance of the choir.Our Lady with the star-shaped flower and crown carries the baby Jesus, also crowned, on her arm. Jesus makes a blessing gesture ( 17h century, polychrome wood).
Statue of Saint Roch of Montpellier
At the corner of the choir and the side aisle you can see a traditional representation of the patron saint of the plague victims with a pilgrim's staff, a dog and an angel. the dog is carrying a loaf of bread in his jaws and the angel has an ointment in its hand. Saint Roch is showing the wound on his leg caused by the plague (second halfof the 17h century, polychrome wood).
Rood screen
The apostle pew at the back of the chapelcomes from the Klerkenkapel in Zoutleeuw. On the pew we can see a painted representation of Christ the Savior flanked by the apostles (1613, oak).
