Christ statue of the forest devotion by Angelo Bortolotti in the 2nd district of Vienna. After the opening of the Prater in 1766, people settled on the edge of the Prater. In 1862 an elementary school was opened. The principal attached an image of the Virgin Mary to a large tree in 1863 because the nearest church was far away. Franz Plankenbüchler was an innkeeper and ran a restaurant at Freudenauer Dammhafen. Franz, a deeply religious man, often crossed himself before the image of the Virgin Mary during his walks. In 1911, he decided to erect a statue of the Virgin Mary in a good spot nearby. This was the beginning of today's place of pilgrimage, which also includes a church (Maria Grün) since 1924.