MARIAZELL. - The oldest Austrian sanctuary, situated in an enchanting site among the mountains of upper Styria (870 m), diocese of Seckau. The small town has barely 2,000 inhabitants, but the pilgrims number more than 300,000 annually. The statue of the Madonna with the Child, in limewood and painted, is a work of the 13th century.
M., founded as a simple "cell" by the colonizing Benedictines of St. Lambrecht around 1157, soon acquired fame as a sanctuary. Evidence of its celebrity are the visits of Henry I Ladislaus, Margrave of Moravia (1198-
1212), and of Louis the Great, King of Hungary (1380-96). The latter, indeed, to thank the Madonna of M. for the victory won over the Bulgarians, had a great Gothic basilica built there, a "Hallenkirche". From that time M. became the central sanctuary of all Austria-Hungary, greatly favored by the imperial house. The traditional routes of access were embellished with churches at the stopping points, and with Marian shrines along the roads ("Zellerwege"); Ferdinand III took an interest in the rebuilding of the church in sumptuous Baroque forms, by the work of D. Sciassia (1644-83). The two smaller bell towers, then added to the Gothic central one, give the sanctuary a singular appearance. In the middle of the central nave the original chapel is preserved, transformed by E. Fischer von Erlach into exuberant Baroque forms; the grandiose high altar is by J. B. Fischer v. Erlach (1693-1704). The prohibition of pilgrimages in the times of Joseph II (1782-96) and of the Nazis remained episodic. Highly valuable works of art are preserved in the Treasury. The care of the sanctuary is entrusted to the Benedictines of St. Lambrecht, assisted by those of Vienna, called the "Scots".
Bibliography4 works
Giuseppe Löw