[2][3] Though not the see of a bishop, the church building is a renowned monument of Late Gothic architecture and one of Carinthia's most visited landmarks.

A first church dedicated to St. Mary was probably built on the site about 753 at the behest of the missionary bishop Modestus, called the Apostle of Carantania.

Nevertheless, the church of Maria Saal remained important as the site, where the Dukes of Carinthia traditionally obtained ecclesiastical blessings after their installation at the nearby Prince's Stone.

The present-day church was built in a Late Gothic style between 1430 and 1459, then partly refurbished with a Baroque interior in the 17th century.

The tradition that the bishop of Gurk is also dean of the Church of the Assumption of Mary in Maria Saal, has survived to this day.