According to legend, in 1157 a Benedictine monk named Magnus was travelling through these forests with a small wooden statue of the Virgin when a rock blocked his path; he prayed, the rock split, and he settled on the spot, placing the statue on a tree stump and building a cell around it. That cell became Mariazell, Austria's most important place of pilgrimage. The great basilica that now dominates the little town, with its Gothic tower flanked by two Baroque ones, still houses the statue, and every year hundreds of thousands of pilgrims come, many on foot from Vienna.
Pilgrims need sustenance, and Mariazell has a long tradition of making gingerbread and honey-based liqueurs, sold in shops around the basilica square. A slice of gingerbread with a coffee on the square, under the towers, is a good way to spend half an hour. The narrow-gauge Mariazell Railway, one of the earliest electrified mountain lines in Austria, climbs up from St. Pölten through tunnels and over viaducts, and if you see one of its trains on the way in, you will understand why rail enthusiasts love it.
The roads to Mariazell are what bring riders here. From the north, the route over the Annaberg and the Josefsberg winds through dense forests and over modest passes, with tight bends and long views of the Ötscher massif. To the south, the Seeberg Saddle leads into Styria, with another series of curves through forests and meadows. The roads are generally well surfaced, but there can be gravel, wet patches and cattle grids, and on summer weekends they are popular with motorcyclists, so expect company and occasional speed checks.
Mariazell is small, with around 1,200 inhabitants, but it has restaurants, cafés and hotels catering to pilgrims and tourists. For fuel, it is worth planning ahead, as the surrounding area is sparsely populated and the larger towns lie a good distance away. Nearby, the Erlaufsee is a lovely mountain lake for a short break or, in summer, a cold swim. The weather in the mountains can change quickly, with afternoon thunderstorms common in summer, so keep an eye on the sky.