MARIAN COLUMN (MARIENSÄULE)

The columns of Mary Immaculate are one of the spiritual symbols of the Habsburg Empire. In 1647, Ferdinand III decided to place the entire German Empire under the patronage of the Immaculate, whom he elevated to the title of "Supreme General of the Armies". The Habsburg dynasty had a great devotion to the Immaculate Virgin. The column of Mary of Weiz was erected in 1692 in thanksgiving to the Virgin for having warded off the Turkish threat. A farmers' market is held here on Wednesdays and Saturdays.