We knew about Mariazell as a must visit place in the direction we took from Lunz am See to Graz. You can read about the article of Lunz am See here.
We were quite impressed when reaching the town. It was a small but vivid and pretty one. The heart of the town is the object of veneration and its magnificent basilica, a site of pilgrimage for Catholics from Austria and neighboring countries. According to Wikipedia, “the object of veneration is an image of the Virgin Mary reputed to work miracles, carved in lime-tree wood. This was brought to the place in 1157, and is now enshrined in a chapel adorned with objects of silver and other costly materials. The large church of which the chapel forms part was erected in 1644 as an expansion of a smaller church built by Louis I, King of Hungary, after a victory over the Ottoman Empire in 1363.”
But we didn’t come there to just visit the town, we aim to reach the top of the Bürgeralpe Mariazell mountain.
We didn’t stay long enough and the weather was too bad so we couldn’t do much things around Mariazell. Actually, there are a lot of things to do in Mariazell:
In the summer months, there are numerous recreational activities in addition to leisurely hikes and climbing tours:
- Explore the Bürgeralpe Mariazell mountain with its aerial cableway, the lumberjack adventure park Holzknechtland & Biberwasser, the WakeAlps water ski lift and several BikeAlps mountain bike trails
- Visit the town of Mitterbach with its chairlift, mountain go-carting track, climbing playground and summit hiking path
- Experience the natural wonders of Lake Erlauf for swimming, diving and boating
- Enjoy art, culture & culinary delights in the treasure chamber at the basilica, at the museum of local history in Mariazell or on a ride with the museum tramway. Experience the gingerbread bakery Erlebzelterei Pirker, a production of the famous Magenlikör digestif and the workshop of Pantherstrick Arzberger as well as visiting the pharmacy Apotheke Zur Gnadenmutter
During the Mariazell Christmas season, Austria's largest traditional advent market offers a wide range of arts & crafts, regional delicacies and countless concerts and attractions for the whole family to help get you into the holiday spirit.
Throughout the winter, one of the most modern lift systems carries visitors to the perfectly prepared slopes of the Bürgeralpe mountain, as well as to the toboggan run and the snow park at the Gemeindealpe mountain.
For more information about Mariazell, you can discover this website:
For more information about the hiking routes in Mariazell, check it out here:
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