Lourdes Grotto in the Vienna Woods

Faithful, scaled-down replica of the Lourdes grotto. The same materials were used for the copy of the altar as in Lourdes in France, namely pure marble. Can only be viewed from the outside!

"Now that this craggy rock in the middle of our woods is to be transformed into a beautiful Lourdes grotto, may it also serve as a perpetual monument to our love for the 'Immaculate Conception' and bring blessings to all of us who make a pilgrimage there or walk past, as well as to the entire Vienna Woods."

The Maria Lourdes Grotto near Maria Gugging in the Vienna Woods has become a household name for many Viennese, Lower Austrians and beyond. Many people who hike through the Vienna Woods stop at the beautiful grotto and tens of thousands come from far and wide every year to honor Mary, the Immaculate, and ask for her intercession.

The cross rises high from the rock, below it is the grotto with the altar where the Blessed Sacrament is kept and the Eucharist is celebrated daily from spring to late fall. To the left of it, next to the bubbling spring, St. Bernadette kneels life-size, looking up to Mary full of love and childlike trust.

Once you have enjoyed the peace of this forest silence, no, this heavenly silence with the Immaculate Mother, you will never completely get away from it again. They will always long for that quiet place where heaven has touched the earth and where they know they are wondrously close to God and their holy mother.