Every year in June, mountain fires are lit throughout South Tyrol. Shaped like crosses, hearts or displaying the sign of Christ ("INRI" and "IHS"), they commemorate the year 1796, when Napoleon's troops were moving ever closer to Tyrol from Northern Italy. The Tyroleans were in dire straits. The abbot of Stams suggested entrusting the land and the poorly trained soldiers to the "Sacred Heart of Jesus" and asking for divine intervention. Should they win, this vow was to be renewed every year on the Sunday of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Surprisingly, the Tyrolean troops succeeded in defeating the French. Sacred Heart Sunday became a major holiday and the custom is still practised annually. Today, the Sacred Heart bonfires are prepared by associations or groups of friends and lit at highly visible locations on the mountain ridges. Often, it takes hours to carry the firewood up to the top of the mountain.
The tradition of mountain fires dates back to pre-Christian times. Especially at the time of the summer solstice, ritual fires were kindled on mountainsides. In Christian times, the solstice and St. John's Day were close together in the calendar, which meant that "St. John's fires" were often lit in many places. The feast of the Sacred Heart also occurs at the end of June (on the 3rd Sunday after Pentecost). In this way, older mountain fire ceremonies were gradually repurposed. The veneration of the Sacred Heart dates back to medieval mysticism and was promoted from the 17th century onwards, especially by the Jesuit Order.
