| Loretto tips and photos posted by real travelers and Prague locals.
Loreta, Loretanske namesti 7.
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Go and see the bearded lady! Directions: Castle Hill (Hradcany), 5min west from Prague Castle.
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The Loreto is a catholic monastery, just a few blocks away from the castle. As Prague was always disputed ground between the catholic and protestant churches, this beautiful monasteries purpose was to impress the non-catholic part of the population and possibly help converting them to the true faith. Directions: Castle Hill (Hradcany), 5min west from Prague Castle.
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This is the church of the Nativity, which is in the Loreto – you have to pay to get in to the Loreto, and this church is one of the things you can see in there. This may look like just another church, but when you go to the far end of the church by the altar, you will see some cabinets with fully dressed skeletons (they are actually pretty hard to tell that they are skeletons as they are very covered with clothing and have wax masks on). I have never seen bones dressed up on display in a church before. To be honest the only reason I realised where they were was because I had read in advance they were there, and when I couldn’t find them, I asked the attendant in the church. Leave a Comment Directions: Castle Hill (Hradcany), 5min west from Prague Castle.
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The church is a part of the monestary of Loretta's Our Lady. The church is n a baroque style. Leave a Comment Directions: Castle Hill (Hradcany), 5min west from Prague Castle.
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All the way to the west of the Hradcany, the Castle Hill, you'll find the famous Loreto sanctuary. This really is a place with a history. The story goes that during the 13th century's crusade to the Middle East, some angels wanted to protect the house of Maria from the winning muslims. The crusades were being lost and the hosue should be protected. They flew the hosue over to the Italian town of Loreto.
When the battle of the White Mountain (at Petrin-Hill) was won by the catholics in 1620, they decided that the non-believing city of Prague needed a sanctuary like the one in Loreto. Between 1626 and 1636 the Loreto-cloister was built as "Santa Casa". It became an important place for pilgrims until today and it also has an important role as treasury for the Catholic Church. Hundreds of pieces of art, clothes, books and gold, silver and diamants are kept here.
From the outside Loreto looks baroc, with pillars and lots of statues. The tall central tower has a bell that was made in Amsterdam. It plays the Maria melody every hour. This is because of another nice story: a widow of a neighbouring area once adopted 27 children. In that time the pest ruled Prague. Every time one of her children died, she paid to play Loreto's bells. She did that lots of time. By the time she died herself, she was all out of money. At that moment the Holy Madonna of Loreto let the angels sing for her. Since then, every hour the bells play for the ones who need it. Leave a Comment Directions: Castle Hill (Hradcany), 5min west from Prague Castle. Opened: tuesday-sunday from 9:00 - 12:15 and 13:00 - 16:30 h.
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The Loreta is a wonderfully spiritual place of pilgrimage in Prague. The building houses the Sacred House (Santa Casa) replica with bits of original frescoes, The Church of the Nativity of Our Lord - including two skeletons fully dressed with wax masks over their skills, the Chapel of Our Lady of Sorrows (where you can see the crucified bearded lady which became the patron saint of the godforsaken, and the best part as far as I'm concerned is the treasury.
Although its been ransacked several times throughout the year, the treasury remains an eye popping adventure. Make sure to see the 90cm tall Prague Sun (Prazske slunce) with over 6,222 diamonds.
A special note is that photography is not allowed - with a 1,000 Kc fine for those caught. Quite hefty.
Admission is 90 Kc.
Additionally, while we were there, they had a wonderfully informative exhibit of the life story of Anne Frank and the life of Czech Jews during WWII. Leave a Comment
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Loreto Square is one of the nicest areas in Prague. It's often much quieter up here than nearby at the Castle. The Loreta Church and Cernin Palace, which both face on to the square, are amongst Prague's most beautiful buildings. Also, don't miss the statue of Edward Benes, President of Czechosolvakia from 1935 until 1939, when he fled to Britain after the Nazi invasion. Leave a Comment Directions: Castle Hill (Hradcany), 5min west from Prague Castle.
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Just a few steps from Strahov there is another beautiful monastery and pilgrimage church called Loreto. This monastery was built in 1620 after the " victory on the White Hills " (directely translated from the german expression) of the catholics over the protestants.
In 1750 the monastery was finished in Baroque style by Christoph Dientzenhofer and his son Kilian Ignaz.
All of the pics that you may see in this tip are from the outside part of the Loreto-church, that you may see without paying the small entrance-fee. There are plenty of great sculptures around the stairs leading to Loreto. Leave a Comment Directions: Castle Hill (Hradcany), 5min to walk west from Prague Castle, and about 3 minutes to walk from Strahov monastery.
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Ever since it was built in 1626, it served as a pilgrimage spot.
The inside is marvellous with a courtyard & the Santa Casa chapel and is fully decorated in baroque style.
The front baroque tower consists of 27 bells.
It was named after the Santa Casa legend, stating that the original home of arch angel Gabriel was moved by angels for protection from heretics from Nazareth to Loreto. Leave a Comment Directions: Castle Hill (Hradcany), 5min west from Prague Castle.
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The Loreta Monastery is one of the finest baroque buildings in Prague. It was founded by Benignia Katerina Lobkovinc in 1626. The monastery has been a place of pilgrimage over the years. The star attraction of the monarstery is the replica of the Virgin Mary's House, the Santa Casa. The Casa is caked with stucco carvings depicting the building's miraculous transportation from the Holy Land which happened as according to legend.
Just by the Santa Casa is the opulant Church of the Nativity of the Lord. Like the Church of St. Nicholas is was built by Krystof Dientzenhofer who began construction on the monastery in 1737. The church like all baroque interiors, is highly decorative. Probably the most interesting items within the church are the two skeletons. These are two Spainish saints, St Felicissimus and St Marcia. They flank the High Altar and adorned with wax masts.
On the first floor of the monastery is another highlight, the treasury. This is one of the richest collections of holy relics that I saw in the Czech Republic. The most notable piece within the treasury is the Prague Sun which is diamonded studded monstrance. While exploring the arcaded courtyard within the Loreta try not to forget to look up and catch the frescos that decorate the ceilings of the verandas. They are very interesting.
The Loreta Monastery is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 9am to 12:15pm and from 1pm to 4:15pm. Admission cost 80kc. Leave a Comment Directions: Castle Hill (Hradcany), 5min west from Prague Castle.
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