Mariazell - Pilgrimage Church of the Nativity of the Virgin

Standing high above the town of Mariazell, the pilgrimage church of the Nativity of the Virgin was built in Romanesque style about 1200 and converted to a Gothic hall-church in the 14th century. In the 17th century the whole church was remodeled in Baroque style. The central tower, in mainly Gothic form, is flanked by two more Baroque towers with onion domes. Chapels were added to the nave during the Baroque remodeling in the 17th century. The Gothic choir was replaced by a transept and a chancel with a vaulted roof. The great Baroque architects Fischer von Erlach the Elder and the Younger played a major part in this reconstruction and were also responsible for several altars. The impressive high altar (c. 1700) has an over-life size