The first written record of a church on the site of current Bladåker Church dates from 1316. The presently visible church, however, dates from the late 15th or early 16th century, with the exception of the sacristy (13th century) which is the only remains of the earlier, probably otherwise wooden, church. The church is constructed of fieldstone, with brick having been used for details and decorations in the façade. The external bell tower, made of wood, was erected in 1748. Inside, the church is decorated with frescos, dating from 1623. These were painted over during the 18th century but have since been restored. Among the church furnishings, a late medieval sculpture of the Holy Virgin and a number of wooden funeral coat of arms from the local nobility can be mentioned. The altarpiece is especially noteworthy as it was painted by Anna Maria Ehrenstrahl and donated by her to the church.
The church lies in a small hamlet, containing several well-preserved historical farmhouses and the former church school.
References:The Pilgrimage Church of Wies (Wieskirche) is an oval rococo church, designed in the late 1740s by Dominikus Zimmermann. It is located in the foothills of the Alps in the municipality of Steingaden.
The sanctuary of Wies is a pilgrimage church extraordinarily well-preserved in the beautiful setting of an Alpine valley, and is a perfect masterpiece of Rococo art and creative genius, as well as an exceptional testimony to a civilization that has disappeared.
The hamlet of Wies, in 1738, is said to have been the setting of a miracle in which tears were seen on a simple wooden figure of Christ mounted on a column that was no longer venerated by the Premonstratensian monks of the Abbey. A wooden chapel constructed in the fields housed the miraculous statue for some time. However, pilgrims from Germany, Austria, Bohemia, and even Italy became so numerous that the Abbot of the Premonstratensians of Steingaden decided to construct a splendid sanctuary.