Mariazell in Printed Media of the 18th and 19th Centuries

Abstract

In the wide range of printed books on religious topics, a specific role was played by printed pilgrimage items, whose main aim was to increase the prestige and fame of pilgrimage sites and to strengthen the promotion of worshipped cults among believers. This was also the case of the pilgrimage site of Mariazell in Styria, Austria, where believers from virtually all parts of the Habsburg Monarchy, thus also pilgrims from the Czech lands, travelled in the 18th and 19th centuries. Especially broadside-ballad production and pilgrimage books significantly developed the tradition of religious pilgrimages. Pilgrimage songs, which were published in pilgrimage books intended for pilgrims heading to Mariazell, found a response in broadside-ballad production and in many cases also became part of the song repertoire of pilgrim cults in the Czech lands.