The "Lourdes Grotto" was built in 1931 by unemployed miners in the Kirkel valley and consecrated as a Marian pilgrimage site by the then vicar Deck in the same year.
Father Deck (parish priest in Niederwürzbach from 1926 to 1934) suggested that a Lourdes Grotto should also be built in Oberwürzbach. This idea was put into practice in 1931 and unemployed miners built the Lourdes grotto in the Kirkel valley at the western foot of the Kieselberg.
Just three years later (1934), unknown perpetrators desecrated and vandalised the site.
At midday on 19 March 1945, a hail of bombs fell on the village and many Würzbach residents lost all their belongings. The village was a scene of destruction and the church also went up in flames and burned to the ground.
After the church was gradually rebuilt after the war under Pastor Rößler, the Lourdes Grotto was also extensively repaired in 1958. A new statue of the Virgin Mary was purchased and in 1959, 14 Stations of the Cross by the Blieskastel sculptor Karl Riemann were erected on the last stretch of road to the grotto.
The idyllically situated grotto is a place of peace and has been the destination of many pilgrims for years. The water in the grotto also attracts many visitors due to its low hardness. It is rare to be alone at the grotto during the day. It is located on the award-winning "hut hiking trail".
