Pfarrkirche Eichkögl

Klein Mariazell stands on a gentle rise between the valleys of the Raab and Rittschein in the hilly countryside of the Raab valley. It belongs to the parish of Eichkögl in Styria and is reached by marked walking paths through farmland and woods. The church replaced a small chapel built in 1853 after a local man recovered from illness and kept his promise to erect a larger place of worship. In 1890 the present building was completed in late-baroque style and consecrated by Bishop Johann Baptist Zwerger. The church is recognised for its regular pilgrimages every thirteenth day of the month, when groups walk from Eichkögl along a signed pilgrim route to Klein Mariazell. Inside, the bright nave with its three bays and straight-ended choir holds a thousand worshippers beneath a cross-ribbed vault. A fine side chapel shelters the original altar from the 1853 chapel, modelled on the high altar of the great Mariazell Basilica. The organ case, built in 1753 and installed here in 1888, carries a silent positive section that adds to the historic atmosphere. Outside, the square west tower rises above the main front, its broken bell-helm crowned by a weather vane. Flanking the tower are two chapels with scroll gables that echo the local baroque tradition. Inside the church a sacristy with an upper gallery opens off the choir, and a small exhibition room displays objects telling the story of the pilgrimage site. Beyond the churchyard the surrounding landscape of rolling hills and meadows offers further marked paths for quiet walks, giving visitors a chance to pause and reflect.