Hills of Marija Bistrica
The greatest Marian shrine, officially proclaimed a national Marian shrine in 1971, is situated forty km northwest of Zagreb, in Marija Bistrica, first mentioned in written documents in 1209. Today, this shrine has a beautiful basilica - officially named by Pope Pius XI - and a votive altar which the Croatian Parliament commissioned in 1715. The spacious, unfinished "open-air church", the unfinished "wall of trust and hope" and Calvary - unique Stations of the Cross, are original artistic works by Croatian sculptors from the second half of the twentieth century. Veneration of Mary began in the fifteenth century when the black figure of Our Lady became famous for its miraculous powers. During the Ottoman invasion that figure was walled in on two occasions within the church walls. It was finally rediscovered in 1684 when, thanks to the efforts of the Zagreb Pauline Bishop, Martin Borkovic, the act of veneration strongly developed. The shrine has been constantly modernised and its ongoing, present-day improvement is a direct result of the visit made by Pope John Paul II on 3rd October 1998. The shrine in Marija Bistrica is the site of the greatest and the most important events in the church calendar, and is visited each year by between 500 and 800 thousand pilgrims. The shrine is open to pilgrims from early spring until late autumn.
At the beginning of the 16th century an unknown local artisan carved a statue in black wood that was placed in a chapel on the nearby hill of Vinski vrh. In 1545, Turks attacked the area and the parish priest concealed the statue within the wall of a church in Bistrica. The priest died shortly afterwards and took the secret of the statueÂ’s hiding place to the grave with him. After a miraculous vision in 1588 the statue was found and restored, only to be secreted once again, in 1650. Finally, the statue was restored on 15th July 1684 and on the very next day a series of miraculous healings and fulfilment of prayers began.
