ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the major developments within German-speaking research on pilgrimage. The European ethnology and folklore studies tradition has long dominated this research, and it has been largely self-contained until recently. Early studies focussed on material artefacts, such as votive offerings, statues and records, and what went on at the pilgrimage destination. From the 1970s, however, attention began to be paid to the pilgrims' journeys and what motivated them to go on pilgrimage. This reflected a more general paradigm shift within German-speaking humanities and social sciences towards a phenomenological approach and the study of meaning. The number of local and regional museums was expanding too, strengthening the drive towards the preservation of cultural heritage including pilgrimage artefacts. Explanations were provided through recourse to compensation theory. Pilgrimage was a term which could be applied to a variety of nonreligious activities such as visits to places associated with popular culture icons.
