Mariazell, situated in the north of the Austrian province of Styria, is the most important sanctuary of the Madonna in Central Europe, and the religious center of Catholics in the Danube area.
From the Benedictine convent of St. Lambrecht, the monk Magnus, brought a statue of Virgin Mary. He carved it in linden wood and erected a little cell to protect the statue. From this cell Mariazell derives its name. Around the year , Margrave Henry Vladislav of Moravia built the first church for the "Mater Gentium Slavorum" in gratitude for his recuperation from a serious disease.
About , King Louis the Great of Hungary dedicated a pilgrim's chapel to the Madonna, after his glorious victory over the Turks, which exists to this day. Mariazell and the "Magna Hungarorum Domina" thus, became the most important Hungarian pilgrimage center, as well. Like no other place, Mariazell up to this day maintained a very close relationship with the Catholics of Central and Eastern Europe. The history of pilgrimage to Mariazell is an integrated part of the history Christian Europe.
The basilica, in its actual form standing in the midst of the splendid alpine landscape, is a 17th century masterwork of the famous Italian architect Domenico Sciassia. Fischer von Erlach. The Altar of Grace, which Empress Maria Theresia endowed the splendid silver trellis, was designed by his son Emanuel. The greatest artists designed the magnificent interior decorations of the church and thus, created in this church one of the most important and beautiful religious baroque buildings.
The "Magna Mater Austriae", Austria's great mother of God, today more than ever, is a symbol of living Christian belief. From to the famous Hungarian Cardinal Mindszenty was buried in the Basilica before he could be buried in his finally-liberated homeland.
