traditional // Fire of the Sacred Heart

Every year in South Tyrol, on the third Sunday after Pentecost, the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is celebrated with the famous bonfires on the mountain ridges...
 

June 1, 1796, the estates of Tyrol meet in Bolzano at Palais Toggenburg and decide to entrust the country to the "divine heart of Jesus". The reason: Napoleon's troops were advancing ever closer from northern Italy and besieging Tyrol, which until then had been exempt from any military obligations under a privilege granted by Emperor Maximilian I. The Tyrolean troops were also able to defeat the French troops in the short term and since then the highest Tyrolean holiday has been celebrated on the 3rd Sunday after Whitsun (in June) with mountain bonfires throughout the country.

As a result, the Sacred Heart of Jesus fires became more and more important compared to the midsummer fires that had been customary up to that time. Thousands of torches still form elaborate religious symbols such as crosses, hearts, doves and praying hands on the mountains today. They can be admired for around two hours from nightfall.