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In 1656, a master peltmonger from Horn placed a wooden image of the Madonna on an oak tree with three trunks (hence the name Dreieichen, Three Oaks). After a fire, the mayor of Horn had the image replaced by a new statue (ca.1679). As the pilgrimages quickly became popular, a hermitage was built near the oak in 1700. The hermitage existed until 1782. The first chapel was built 1730–1735. This chapel was replaced by the present  pilgrimage church Schmerzhafte Mutter Gottes (Our Sorrowful Mother) in 1744–1750, built in splendid Baroque style. The two towers were added in 1814–1819. The splendorous high altar of 1750 holds the old statue of Our Lady from the 17th century. Maria Dreieichen became an independent parish in 1783; since then, the pilgrimage church also serves as parish church. The church received the title of a Basilica minor in 1957.