LORETA

Description

Essentials about Loreta in brief

Loreta (cz. “Pražská Loreta”) is a Baroque complex of buildings in the Hradčany district, not far from Prague Castle, and one of the most important pilgrimage sites in the Czech Republic. The Capuchin monastery consists of the Church of the Nativity of Christ, the Loreto Chapel and a representative convent building with a bell tower. Although the monastery is still active today, some parts are open for tours.

The history and buildings of Loreta

The legend of Loreta

Historically, Loreta dates back to the beginning of the Thirty Years’ War. After the victory of the Catholic League over the Protestant Bohemian estates at the Battle of White Mountain in 1621, an extensive process of re-Catholicization led to the establishment of numerous Loreta shrines throughout Bohemia. These pilgrimage sites were considered a proven means of regaining the interest of the Bohemian population in the Catholic religion.

Thanks to a legend that became famous in the 13th century, the small Italian town of Loreta became one of the most important pilgrimage sites in the Catholic world. The saint’s tale centers on the Casa Santa, the holy house of Nazareth, where Mary, the mother of Jesus, grew up and received the Annunciation from the Archangel Gabriel. For protection from unbelievers, angels took the House of Nazareth by a circuitous route to the small Italian town of Loreta. From here, the cult of Loreta spread to the rest of Central Europe and led to a flurry of construction of Loreta shrines, especially in the Baroque era. In Bohemia alone, about 50 of these pilgrimage sites were built on the Italian model, the most important of which is Prague’s Loreta.

The Casa Santa in Loreta

The starting point of Loreta was the Casa Santa, which is still the center of the four-winged complex. It was completed as early as 1631. The chapel is a replica of the Casa Santa in Loreta, Italy. The construction of the Casa Santa, created in the period from 1626 to 1631, was financed by Countess Benigna Catherine of Lobkowicz and executed by the Italian master builder Giovanni Batista Orsi.

The present rich decoration of the Casa Santa with columns, sculptures and stucco reliefs dates back to 1664 and was designed by the artists G. Agosto, G. B. Colombo and Giovanni Battista Cometa. Depicted are scenes from the life of Mary and the Old Testament prophets. Inside the chapel, too, Mary’s life is recounted on 17th-century murals. In the small prayer room there is also a silver altar and a figure of Mary carved from linden wood.

The building complex of Loreta

Due to the increasing number of pilgrims, the Loreta complex was extended more and more until the middle of the 18th century and the Loreta Chapel was enclosed by a complex of buildings consisting of churches, chapels and cloisters. The exterior facade of Loreta was designed in 1721 by the German master builder Christoph Dientzenhofer. Dientzenhofer and his son, who took over the construction management after his death, are among the most famous representatives of the early and high Baroque, and gave a uniform appearance to the sacred buildings of the complex, which were designed in different styles.

The bell tower of Loreta

The striking bell tower dates back to the early Baroque period and is thus somewhat older. Inside the tower there is a carillon of about 30 bells with a total weight of over 1.5 tons. In 1694, Peter Neumann, a clockmaker from Prague, installed the carillon, which rings out the Czech Marian song “Tisíckráte pozdravujem tebe” (i.e. “A thousand times we greet you, Mary”) every hour on the hour during the summer.

The Loreta Treasury

Loreta is also known for its well-stocked treasury, which houses numerous valuable paintings, jewels and liturgical objects from the 16th to 18th centuries. Despite several lootings of the treasury over the centuries, you can still see many masterpieces of Czech goldsmith art in the premises.

The highlight of the collection is certainly the so-called “Prague Sun,” a 90-centimeter-high monstrance weighing 12 kilograms and set with no less than 6,222 diamonds. It was designed in 1699 in Vienna by jewelers Matthias Stegner and Johann Künischbauer in gilded silver. When the sun shines on the diamond-studded corona, the monstrance glows with an incomparable radiance (which undoubtedly explains its name).