MARIAZELL. – The oldest Austrian shrine, situated in a charming site among the mountains of Upper Styria (870 m), in the diocese of Seckau. The small town has barely 2,000 inhabitants, yet annually welcomes more than 300,000 pilgrims. The statue of the Madonna and Child, carved in limewood and polychromed, dates from the 13th century.
Founded as a simple “cella” by the Benedictine monks from St. Lambrecht around 1157, Mariazell soon gained fame as a shrine. Evidence of its renown includes visits by Henry I Ladislaus, Margrave of Moravia (1198–1212), and by Louis the Great, King of Hungary (1380–96). The latter, in gratitude for a victory over the Bulgarians, commissioned the construction of a grand Gothic basilica, a Hallenkirche. From that time Mariazell became the central shrine of all Austria-Hungary, greatly favored by the imperial house. Traditional pilgrimage routes were adorned with churches at resting places and with wayside Marian shrines (“Zellerwege”). Ferdinand III took an interest in rebuilding the church in sumptuous Baroque forms, executed by Domenico Sciassia (1644–83). The two smaller towers added then to the medieval central spire give the sanctuary a distinctive appearance. At the center of the nave stood the original chapel, transformed by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach into exuberant Baroque forms; the magnificent high altar is also by Fischer von Erlach (1693–1704). The suppression of pilgrimages during the reign of Joseph II (1782–96) and under the Nazis proved only temporary. A treasury preserves precious works of art. The care of the shrine is entrusted to the Benedictines of St. Lambrecht, assisted by those of Vienna, known as the “Scottish” Benedictines.