Basilika Mariazell

The most important Catholic pilgrimage site in the German-speaking world, Basilika Mariazell has drawn pilgrims for over 800 years. The object of veneration is a small wooden Madonna kept in the Gnadenkapelle (Chapel of Mercy) at the center of the church. Empress Maria Theresa, who ruled the Habsburg empire for forty years, made nine pilgrimages here.

Basilika Mariazell is Austria’s most important pilgrimage church, drawing visitors for over 800 years to the small wooden Madonna kept in the Gnadenkapelle at the church’s center. The Baroque exterior with twin towers was designed by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach and completed in 1704; it encases an earlier Gothic and Romanesque core. Free entry; open daily from 6am. The scenic Mariazellerbahn narrow-gauge railway from St. Polten is the best way to arrive. Major pilgrimage days (August 15, September 8) draw large crowds.