Basilica of St. Anne

A basilica for great pilgrim gatherings

Built in 1910–1912 by Johannes Schott, the Neo-Baroque basilica was consecrated on October 13, 1912. Pope Pius X raised it to papal basilica rank in 1913. It has twelve side altars and a monumental high altar. The Black Madonna remains in the separate Gnadenkapelle. The basilica answers a different need: a church large enough to gather the crowds who came to the Marian pilgrimage town for common worship. Its title honors St. Anne, the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary; it does not transfer the older image or its devotional center from the chapel. A pilgrim can read the two buildings together without confusing their roles: the chapel invites intimate prayer before Our Lady, while the basilica gives the larger assembly room for the Eucharist and public liturgy.

Stand back to read the broad façade, then enter the nave and attend to the high altar and its dedication to St. Anne. Notice how the scale of this early twentieth-century building differs from the small octagonal chapel nearby. The side altars and broad interior make sense in a place accustomed to many pilgrims; the architecture serves gathering as well as private devotion. Let the church itself set the pace before moving back toward Kapellplatz.