Wayside shrine

A wayside shrine is a religious image, usually in some sort of small shelter, placed by a road or pathway, sometimes in a settlement or at a crossroads, but often in the middle of an empty stretch of country road, or at the top of a hill or mountain. They have been a feature of many cultures, including Chinese folk religious communities, Catholic and Orthodox Europe and some Asian regions.

Wayside shrines were often erected to honor the memory of the victim of an accident, which explains their prevalence near roads and paths; in Carinthia, for example, they often stand at crossroads. Some commemorate a specific incident near the place; either a death in an accident or escape from harm. Other icons commemorate the victims of the plague. The very grand medieval English Eleanor crosses were erected by her husband to commemorate the nightly resting places of the journey made by the body of Queen Eleanor of Castile as it returned to London in the 1290s. Some make it clear by an inscription or notice that a specific dead person is commemorated, but most do not.

Wayside shrines were also erected along old pilgrim routes, such as the Via Sacra that leads from Vienna to Mariazell. Some mark parish or other boundaries, such as the edge or a landholding, or have a function as convenient markers for travelers to find their way. Shrines and calvaries are furthermore frequently noted on maps and therefore represent important orientation aids.

The pre-Christian cultures of Europe had similar shrines of various types; many runestones may have been in this category, though they are often in the nature of a memorial to a dead person. Few Christian shrines survive in predominantly Protestant countries, but they remain common in many parts of Catholic and Orthodox Europe, often being repaired or replaced as they fall into disrepair, and relocated as roads are moved or widened. The most common subjects are a plain cross or a crucifix, or an image of the Virgin Mary, but saints or other scenes may also be shown. The surviving large stone high crosses of Celtic Christianity, and the related stone Anglo-Saxon crosses (mostly damaged or destroyed after the Protestant Reformation) are sometimes outside churches, but often not, and these may have functioned as preaching crosses, or in some cases just been wayside shrines. The calvaires of Brittany in France, are especially large stone shrines showing the Crucifixion, but these are typically in villages.

In Greece they may be called kandilakia (Greek: καντηλάκια) or εικονοστάσιο στην άκρη του δρόμου (ikonostásio stin akri tu drómu, literally "shrine at the roadside"). They are commonly built in the memory of a fatal car accident and usually include a photograph of the victim(s), their namesake Saint and sometimes personal items. They may also be built from car accident survivors thanking the saint who protected them.

Poland is one of the few European countries where the custom of singing Maytime hymns, majówki, at wayside shrines still survives.

Wayside shrines exist throughout India alongside other features of public faith, including lingams, ghats, and kunds. This creates what is described by Vinayak Bharne as a faithscape, a human landscape defined by the role of religion in the public sphere. The majority of these shrines are Hindu, and their public nature and rootedness to place leads them to be described as key expressions of working-class religiosity. Wayside shrines provide meeting points for the micro-communities who partake in religious practice as well as maintenance of the objects. Their presence within an increasingly urban environment creates a "parallel urbanism" which refutes secular notions of religion ebbing away as a society becomes more developed.

Wayside shrines are found in a variety of styles, ranging from simpler column shrines and Schöpflöffel shrines to more elaborate chapel-shrines. Some have only flat painted surfaces, while other shrines are decorated with reliefs or with religious statues. Some feature a small kneeling platform, so that the faithful may pray in front of the image. A common wayside shrine seen throughout the Alpine regions of Europe, especially Germany, Austria and northern Italy, is the Alpine style crucifix wayside shrine. This style often has elaborate wood carvings and usually consists of a crucifix surrounded by a roof and shelter.