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The market town Maria Taferl is situated at an altitude of 443 m on a terrace above the river Danube and the the market town Marbach an der Donau. Maria Taferl is the greatest pilgrimage site in Lower Austria and the second-largest in Austria.

The pilgrimage and parish church was built between 1660 and 1710 in splendid Baroque style. The dome was designed by Jakob Prandtauer. The frescos were painted by Antonio Maria Niccolò Beduzzi and other artists. The altars, among them the high altar or Altar of Miracles of 1735, hold altarpieces by Martin Johann Schmidt (Kremser Schmidt) and Johann Georg Schmidt (Wiener Schmidt). The magnificent Rococo organ dates from 1759/60. The treasury houses numerous monstrances, reliquiaries and precious vestments, among them a vestment made out of the wedding gown of Empress Elisabeth of Austria. The church received the title of a Basilica minor in 1947.