Photo: KSL - René Knabl/Luca Tribondeau

Basilika Maria Loreto

St. Andrä, Carinthia

One of these great pilgrimage sites in Austria is the Basilica Maria Loreto in the historic bishop's city of St. Andrä. One of Carinthia's most impressive church interiors opens up to the astonished visitor, who suddenly finds themselves in the midst of a fascinating symbiosis of color and light. The heart of the pilgrimage is the Chapel of Grace of the "Black Madonna" of Loreto, integrated into the house of worship. In the year of the second great Turkish siege of Vienna in 1683, Prince-Bishop Kaspar von Stadion began the construction of the large pilgrimage church. Bishop Albert Priamis had erected a small chapel at this spot, modeled after the "House of Loreto". Soon the chapel could no longer accommodate the streams of pilgrims, and so it was decided to erect a large Baroque building. The underlying idea was probably to build a church for the St. Andrä bishop that was worthy of an episcopal liturgy. Maria Loreto, alongside Maria Luggau, is the most important Marian pilgrimage church in Carinthia. Under Emperor Josef II, the pilgrimage came to a standstill and was revived after 1859 by the Jesuits. Up to 80,000 communions were counted there annually in the second half of the 19th century. In the interim, the pilgrimage system faltered somewhat, and only recently have more pilgrims been coming again to pray to the "Black Madonna" in Loreto for their concerns. On July 21, 2014, the church was elevated to a basilica by Pope Francis. Please register pilgrimages at the city parish office of St. Andrä. Public transport: St. Andrä train station, then by Postbus, Postbus shuttle, or train station shuttle (from St. Paul or Wolfsberg train station)