The Church of the Virgin Mary is the most well-known pilgrimage church in the entire area.
The origin and the beginnings of the church in Ptujska Gora are very poorly known. The today's church is apparently the first building on the site, which means that there was no other church there before it.
As a completely new edifice, the building got the German name "Neustift", because it was built anew with a specific purpose. The archives of the noble family of Stubenberg report that pope, Bonifacius IX, allowed Ulrik IV Walsee to build a church in the last decade of the 14th century. One of the oldest written records dates from 1442, when the church was called Gracious Mount. During the Turkish invasions it was known under the name of Black Mountain, which symbolised the arrival of the Turks. The saying has it that "suddenly everything became dark and foggy and the Turks fell into a precipice". But the Turkish invasions actually damaged Ptujska Gora a lot, as reports Paolo Santonino, who visited it in 1467. Therefore, the church was later surrounded by high ramparts behind which people could find refuge. In 1447, Ptujska Gora received market rights, its own judge, annual fairs and weekly market days, the latter enabling it to compete with Ptuj. From those times, a PRANGER (a pillory) has been preserved, which used to stand in the middle of the village, and is nowadays placed at the foot of the church.
Today, the church at Ptujska Gora is one of the most important pilgrimage spots in Slovenia, but is also visited by many other visitors, for it is really a pearl of Gothic art.
www.ptujska-gora.si
