In 1876, three eight-year-old girls from the German village of Marpingen bore witness to visions of the Virgin Mary.Their claims triggered a remarkable sequence of events that eventually humbled the authoritarian Prussian government. This celebrated case reveals the unique, half-medieval, half-modern world of German culture during the 1870's, as Bismarck, using all available means, tried to transform a new, recently united country into a modern industrial state. The visions attracted thousands upon thousands of pilgrims. For a while, Marpingen was the German Lourdes and claims of miracle cures abounded. This religious revival led to parliamentary diecussions, a bloody military clampdown and dramatic show-trial which ended in humiliating defeat for the Prussian state. This account is a combination of detective story, historical study, and an investigation of the power of superstition.
- ISBN10 0006863418
- ISBN13 9780006863410
- Publish Date 5 June 1995
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 9 July 1998
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher HarperCollins Publishers
- Imprint Fontana Press
- Edition New edition
- Format Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
- Pages 480
- Language English
- URL http://harpercollins.co.uk