Maria Taferl pilgrimage basilica
Church
Description
The village of Maria Taferl lies on the north bank of the Danube. The pilgrimage basilica of Maria Taferl, Lower Austria's provincial shrine to the Sorrowful Mother of God, is enthroned here.
From the Marian shrine, picturesquely situated on a hill 233 m above the Danube, there is a magnificent view over the Danube valley and the hilly landscape of the Mostviertel region to the Alpine chain, which stretches out over 300 km in front of the visitor.
The foundation stone for the Maria Taferl pilgrimage church, which incorporates the oak tree with the miraculous image - this is also the origin of the name "Maria Taferl" - was laid on April 25, 1660. The building was designed by an unknown master builder, initially under the direction of the Lower Austrian court and landscape architect Georg Gerstenbrand. From 1671, the Italian Carlo Lurago, who worked mainly in Bohemia, continued the construction. Jakob Prandtauer was commissioned to complete the building in 1707.
The basilica's treasury is a magnificent room painted in colorful, popular Baroque style with frescoes depicting apparitions from the history of origins on the ceiling and miraculous healings and rescues on the walls.
