PRESS INFORMATION

Bergheim – Maria Plain Pilgrimage Basilica

Many paths lead to Bergheim: The St. James’ Way and Arnoweg Trail, two long-distance hiking tours, along with the Pilgrimage Path up the Mount Calvary, all bring you to the pilgrimage basilica of Maria Plain, which sits atop the Plainberg affording fantastic views of Salzburg City, the Untersberg, the Göll Massif, the Tennengebirge range and, further west, the mountains of the Chiemgau. Many have come to this lofty perch over the last 300 years – for the widest variety of reasons – in order to also rediscover themselves. This was indeed the case with Leopold Mozart: “On Sunday morning to Maria Plain, not to worship, but rather because of the beautiful scenery” (quote from his letter to daughter Nannerl dated 3.9.1784)

History
This pilgrimage basilica owes its existence to a wondrous painting said to have been associated with a miracle. It came originally from a baker’s house in 
Regen/Lower Bavaria. Though the house was ravaged by war, the painting, as if by a miracle, remained undamaged. The wife of the Guardian of Fürsteneck, Argula von Grimming, acquired the picture. After his parents’ death, son Rudolf withdrew with this sacred object to enjoy a quiet life on his Müllegg estate, belonging to which was also the manor on the Plainberg (today’s Hotel Gasthof Maria Plain). He placed it in a shrine for the every growing flocks of pilgrims to venerate.

Basilica and Mount Calvary
In 1671-1674, master builder Giovanni Antonio Dario, under the patronage of Prince Archbishop Cardinal Max Gandolph von Khuenburg, was building onto the double-steepled church. The monastery building was completed in 1681, while all six of the Mount Calvary chapels were finished by 1691/1730. A citizen of Salzburg financed 
15 additional stone shrines in 1705, which were erected along the old pilgrimage path (which begins in Salzburg at the corner of Rainerstraße/Elisabethstraße).
Today, the church and monastery belong to St. Peter’s Abbey (Salzburg). The basilica is home to many valuable art treasures by very famous sculptors and painters, these including Franz de Neve, Thomas Schwanthaler and his son Franz, Martin Johann 
(Kremser) Schmidt and Christoph Lederwasch.

Mozart’s “Coronation Mass”
In fulfillment of an oath it had taken, the archdiocese of Salzburg venerated the 
miraculous painting with two valuable crowns in 1751. This same ceremony has been reenacted ever since, annually on the fifth or sixth Sunday after Whitsuntide, also the occasion to perform the famous “Coronation Mass” (KV 317) by Wolfgang Amadeus 
Mozart. This famous Mozart mass came into being, amongst other reasons, because Mozart would “... very often perform the music for mass on Sundays…”, in the process often trying out some of his own, as yet fragmentary compositions. 
For the bicentennial anniversary in 1951, the church was raised to the status of “Papal basilica minor”, remaining to this day one of the most beloved pilgrimage sites for the adoration of the Virgin Mary in the entire Alpine world. It provides a venue for numerous culturally significant concerts, as well as for “Mary Singing” on the evening before 
Mother’s Day.

Media Relations: Bergheim Tourist Office
Angela Zechmann, B.A. M.A. | a.zechmann@bergheim-tourismus.at