Wallfahrtskirche Maria Kirchbüchl

The parish and pilgrimage church of Unterhöflein stands on a rise above the village of Unterhöflein in the municipality of Höflein an der Hohen Wand. It belongs to the Diocese of Vienna and is dedicated to the Nativity of Mary. The church also serves as a pilgrimage site known as Maria Kirchbüchl and is linked to Heiligenkreuz Abbey.

The church’s history begins in 1453 with the first written mention of a church on the hill. Over the centuries it passed through the hands of the St George Rigger Order, the Jesuits, and Neukloster Abbey before coming under Heiligenkreuz Abbey in 1881. The building was repeatedly enlarged, most notably in the early 18th century when the growing number of pilgrims required a westward extension. The Baroque choir was added between 1747 and 1749 under Abbot Joseph Stübicher.

The exterior shows a long nave with painted bands on the façade and a shingled west front. The original 15th-century chapel forms the lower, narrower choir with two tall round-arched windows and stepped buttresses. A four-storey tower with a bulbous dome and lantern rises beside the choir. Inside, the two eastern bays of the nave are covered by a flat barrel vault with side niches, while the choir ends in a five-sided apse housing the high altar. The axis of the church aligns with the sunrise on Candlemas, 2 February, the church’s feast day.