Antique Aachen Holy Relic Card, 1888 – Heiligthumsfahrt, Cloth Touch Relics

A rare antique Catholic relic card from Aachen, Germany, dating to the 1888 Heiligthumsfahrt — the historic pilgrimage to the city’s revered sacred relics.

This beautifully preserved devotional card features an intricate antique illustration of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Child surrounded by four medallions representing sacred relics associated with Aachen Cathedral.

Four small pieces of fabric are attached directly to the card, traditionally presented as cloth that had been touched to the holy relics. The original German inscription describes the sacred relics preserved in the Stiftskirche and refers to the Aachen pilgrimage of 1888.

The card retains its original aged paper, typography, decorative border and handwritten approval/signature, giving it an authentic 19th-century devotional character.

Details:

• Date: 1888
• Place: Aachen, Germany
• Period: Late 19th century
• Type: Catholic devotional / relic card
• Approx. size: 10 × 14 cm
• Features: Four attached textile fragments, antique religious engraving and original German inscriptions
• Condition: Antique condition with natural age-related toning, foxing and signs of handling, consistent with its age

A beautiful piece for a collector of Catholic relics, antique devotional objects, religious ephemera and European ecclesiastical history.

Please note: This is an antique historical devotional object. The textile fragments and their historical association are presented according to the inscriptions and construction of the original card; no modern authenticity claim regarding the relics is made beyond what can be established from the artifact itself.

A small surviving piece of the devotional history of Aachen and the great 19th-century pilgrimage tradition.