Lourdes Grotto in the Vienna Woods

"Now that this rugged rock in the middle of our woods is to be transformed into a beautiful Lourdes grotto, may it also be regarded as an everlasting memorial of our love for the 'Immaculate Conception' and bring blessings to all of us who go there on pilgrimage or wander past, as well as to the whole Vienna Woods".

The Maria-Lourdes Grotto near Maria Gugging in the Vienna Woods has become a household name for many Viennese, Austrians of lower part of the town and beyond. Many people who walk through the Vienna Woods stop at the beautiful grotto and tens of thousands come every year from afar to honour Mary the Impeccable and to ask her for her guidance.

The cross rises high from the rock, beneath it is the grotto with the altar on which the Blessed Sacrament is kept and where the Eucharist is celebrated daily from spring to late autumn. To the left of it, next to the bubbling spring, kneels the life-size statue of sacred Bernadette, who looks up at Mary with love and childlike trust.

Whoever has once enjoyed the peace of this forest, no, this heavenly tranquillity with the Immaculate Mother, will never again be able to forget it. They will long again and again for the tranquil place where heaven has touched the earth and where God and His holy Mother are miraculously close to one another.