Description of the attraction
The Maria Taferl Pilgrimage Church is one of the most important pilgrimage churches in Lower Austria. Located in Melk district on the banks of the Danube. The territory was part of the Habsburg possessions. For a long time, these lands belonged to Lord Weissenberg, who lived in the neighboring city of Münechireich.
The building of the Maria Taferl Church was built between 1660 and 1710. Its construction was started under the direction of architects Georg Gershtenbrandt and Italian Carlo Lurago. The famous church dome was created by Jacob Prandtauer in 1710. The church was created in a baroque style with ample gilding and frescoes. The locals were very pleased with the appearance of the church, for them it became a good sign of hope after the plague, the Turkish wars and the Thirty Years' War.
The tradition of pilgrimage to the church of Maria Taferl dates back to the 17th century. In 1760, about 700 pilgrims came here, who brought many gifts and asked for deliverance from their illnesses. Legend has it that they were all completely cured.
Another reason for the importance of the Maria Taferl Church as a place of pilgrimage is the stone cross, a gift from the citizens of Freistadt for pilgrims who died on the way from exhaustion.
Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his family lived in nearby Artstetten and regularly attended Maria Taferl Church.
In 2010, a large-scale restoration of the church began. The last restoration of the interiors was carried out about 50 years ago.
