Sacred Sights Znojmo Contents The Czech spiritual tradition and cathedrals, in the stones and bricks of monasteries, there are traces The Czech spiritual tradition ....................................................................................... 1 Within the borders of today’s Czech of historical events – just waiting to be Republic, a number of events took explored. This publication should help The beginning of Christianity ...................................................................................... 2 place whose impact reached beyond travellers in their discovery, which also its frontiers. Many of them relate to the becomes a journey of self-discovery. Routes of pilgrims, monks and architects ................................................................... 7 influence of Christianity, which as the It can serve as a pocket guide to places dominant religious tradition figured into where history both major and minor Paths of fiery preachers and heretics ......................................................................... 15 the decisions of rulers and monarchs. was made, offering insight into the When travelling to sacred sights, you will beginnings, high points and vestiges of Baroque art in the service of the Catholic Church .................................................... 18 encounter works of art from different historical epochs in which the Christian eras that reflect the creativity and skill of and Jewish faiths have played an Paths of the Orthodox Christian tradition ............................................................... 22 our ancestors. Behind every work made important role. by mortal hands is a story of inspiration, Paths of Judaism ....................................................................................................... 26 faith and the human desire to touch We welcome you to a journey though things that are greater than oneself. the spiritual history of Bohemia and Moravia with wishes for good In this publication you will find weather and an open heart. information on the most significant and most beautiful religious monuments, interesting facts about their history, and tips for trips in their vicinity. In the walls of churches, chapels 1 Rotunda of St. George on Říp Mountain The beginning of Christianity The Czech Republic is often called the country in the heart of Europe. Its location at the border between Eastern and Western cultures has made it not just a crossroads of trade routes but also of spiritual history. 2 Sacred Sights 3 Velehrad This small town in the southeast of Moravia is the most important place of pilgrimage in the Czech Republic. It is said that in the 9th and 10th centuries it was the capital of the once important Slavic state of Great Moravia. It is probably the burial site of one of the missionaries – Archbishop Methodius. In 1985, Pope John Paul II gave the basilica in Velehrad a “Golden Rose” – a precious gift which can be boasted only by Lourdes in France, Guadalupe in Mexico, and Częstochowa in Poland. Velehrad www.velehrad.eu St. Vitus Cathedral The major Cyril and Methodius pilgrimage at Velehrad takes place every year on July 5, the name day www.hrad.cz Through Great of both saints. Early Christianity Břevnov Monastery Moravia with Svatý Hostýn in Prague This is the oldest monastery in the Cyril and The Basilica of the Assumption of the Czech Republic, founded in 993 Virgin Mary (a Basilica minor, completed Historic Centre by Prince Boleslav II together with the of Prague Methodius in 1748), a shrine with a statue of the second bishop of Prague, Adalbert. Virgin Mary, has made Hostýn the Prague Castle From the old Romanesque church most visited pilgrimage site in Moravia. building, remains of the crypt beneath Coming from the east, from Byzantine Noteworthy is its water chapel, with One of the largest castle complexes in the the Church of St. Margaret are preserved. Thessaloniki, the brothers Constantine a spring of miraculous water, and an world, it was the seat of Bohemian kings, Gothic modifications to the monastery (who later took the monastic name artistically valuable Stations of the Cross, Roman emperors, and today houses the and the local church disappeared of Cyril) and Methodius arrived in the designed by the renowned Art Nouveau Office of the Czech President. A UNESCO during the Baroque reconstruction spring of 863 in today’s Czech Republic, architect Dušan Jurkovič. Hostýn World Heritage site, it is dominated by by Kryštof and Kilián Dientzenhofer bringing Christian doctrine here is connected to Velehrad via a pilgrimage the Cathedral of Sts. Vitus, Wenceslas in the early 18th century. In recent years, at the request of Prince Rostislav of route, along which you can visit other and Adalbert, the patrons of the Czech the whole complex has been undergoing Great Moravia. Their mission was also religious monuments in the region. lands. Founded as a rotunda in the mid- restoration, including the gardens. successful because they began to serve 10th century, a cathedral began www.brevnov.cz mass in the new locally comprehensible Open-Air Archaeological to be built on the site in 1344, during the language of Old Church Slavonic, Museum in Modrá reign of Emperor Charles IV, and it was Taste the Břevnovský Benedict instead of the usual Latin, and they completed in 1929. Also worth visiting beer from the monastery brewery. created the new Glagolitic script. In the village of Modrá, near Uherské is the St. George Monastery with the Its history dates to the 13th century. Hradiště, foundations were discovered nearby Church of All Saints. In the You will find the brewery in the former of what was probably the first Christian Chapel of the Holy Rood in the second Baroque stables. church in the Czech lands. courtyard is an exhibition of the St. Vitus www.archeoskanzen.cz Cathedral Treasury. 4 Sacred Sights 5 Since the 11th century, the territory of today’s Czech Republic has been part of the Western ecclesiastical tradition. New religious orders came to this country, bringing with them scholarship and new views on architecture. Monasteries and cathedrals were built, and the practice began of making pilgrimages to holy places. Břevnov Monastery Rotunda of St. Martin at the St. Wenceslas complex. at Vyšehrad The centrally located Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Stará The Rotunda of St. Martin at Vyšehrad, Boleslav is associated with the palladium built in the 11th century, is the oldest of the Czech lands: a Marian icon which, Routes preserved example of early Christian according to legend, was given architecture in Prague. With a diameter by St. Methodius to Princess Ludmila at of 6.5 metres, it is also the largest her baptism and was part of the property rotunda in Prague. of the murdered Prince Wenceslas. www.praha-vysehrad.cz www.staraboleslav.com of pilgrims, Near Prague Říp Říp Mountain is the symbol of Czech monks national history. At its apex is probably Stará Boleslav the most famous Romanesque monument in the Czech lands, Stará Boleslav went down in history the Rotunda of St. George. Říp is as the location of the murder of the associated with the legend of the arrival and architects Bohemian Prince Wenceslas, who is of the Czechs’ ancestors in the country. regarded as a symbol of Czech statehood It is said that every Czech should climb and the country’s most important patron. this mountain at least once in their life. The saint’s murder is commemorated www.rip.ceskehory.cz Holy Hill near Olomouc 6 Sacred Sights 7 Zlatá Koruna (Golden Crown) became an internment camp for spiritual Monasteries leaders. It lies in the midst of nature A few kilometres from Český Krumlov, in the scenic Vysočina region and can on a promontory above the river Vltava, be reached via a variety of hiking Monasteries and beer stands a lovely Cistercian monastery, and cycling trails. which is considered to be one of the Monasteries in Bohemia and Moravia most valuable complexes of Gothic Part of the monastery complex are interesting not just for their architecture in Central Europe. is the Želiv Monastery Brewery, architecture and their genius loci, The picturesque monastery complex which produces six kinds of beer but also for their very close connection is a place of architectural treasures and using traditional methods. You can with beer. The history of monasteries other points of interest. For example, also arrange accommodations was linked with brewing beer from the local Church of the Assumption in the monastery. Whoever wants the beginning. Indeed, beer brewing was of the Virgin Mary is the largest church to escape from the hustle and bustle inherent to the monastery foundation in South Bohemia, and a gift the of daily life can spend some time charters themselves. Until roughly the monastery received indirectly from in the calm environment of the Monastery in Vyšší Brod 12th century, beer was part of the daily French King Louis IX the Pious is said monastery in contemplation diet, and its preparation was taken to be a thorn from Christ’s crown, from and prayer with the as a given, primarily in convent kitchens. which the monastery took its name. Premonstratensian brothers. The ingredients in beer diversified the www.klaster-zlatakoruna.eu The Benedictines were the messengers diet, particularly in periods of fasting. Abbey in Teplá of the Romanesque style, building Designated spaces for brewing gradually The Zlatá Koruna Monastery boasts rotundas, churches, basilicas and began to be established in monastery a musical marvel. In 2012,