It is always nice to stumble upon an interesting place when you are actually on the way to somewhere else completely. That was the case when we drove through Frauenkirchen. If I remember correctly, we had been to Halbturn Palace and were simply looking for a short-cut to Lake Neusiedl. As we came upon a sharp bend, we noticed the impressive-looking church by the side of the road.
I do not think we even knew at that point what the place was called.
Anyway, we stopped – and could not believe the opulent decor we encountered inside the church.
We now know that the church is the Basilica of the Nativity of Mary. It was built by Prince Paul Esterházy I and inaugurated in 1702. He had been elevated to his position as Prince (of the Holy Roman Empire) by Emperor Leopold I in 1687 and apparently was very keen to demonstrate that he deserved that status – hence the impressive building and its striking interior.
The photo below shows a side view of the church.
Further to the right is a set of little chapels on a small artificial hill. A narrow, coiling path leads through the ‘stages of the cross’ to the sculpture of the crucifixion scene at the top.
The church website refers to this as ‘Calvary Hill.’ Its sculptures date from 1759.
