Mariazell, Styria, Austria

🇦🇹 Mariazell is an Austrian city in the south-eastern state of Styria. Well known for being a hub of winter sports and a pilgrimage destination, it is located 143 km (89 miles) north of Graz. It is picturesquely situated in the valley of the Salza, amid the north Styrian Alps.

It is a site of pilgrimage for Catholics from Austria and neighbouring countries. 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.

Transport Mariazell lies on the highway B 20, which goes from St. Pölten over the Seebergsattel to Kapfenberg im Mürz Valley. There is a connection through the Salza Valley to the east either over the Gscheid to St. Aegyd am Neuwalde, into the Piesting Valley und then further into the Viennese Basin (B 21) or over the Lahnsattel into the Mürz Valley and onward to Mürzzuschlag (B 23).

Mariazell is also the southern endpoint of the Mariazell railway line, a narrow gauge electric railway from St Pölten. However the terminus of the line at Mariazell station lies around 1 km (0.6 mi) north of the city centre in the municipal territory of Sankt Sebastian. The station is also the terminus of the Museumstramway Mariazell-Erlaufsee, a standard gauge heritage steam tramway that operates to the nearby Erlaufsee.

Mariazell Airport is a private use airport that is located 2 km (1 mi) north-northwest of Mariazell.