Svatá Hora

The most significant attraction in Příbram is the Svatá Hora national cultural monument. This well-known European Marian place of pilgrimage, a Baroque architectural gem, has towered over the town at an altitude of approximately 590 metres for more than 300 years.

According to legend, the
origins of the devotion to the miraculous statue of Our Lady of Svatá Hora are linked to the time of Archbishop Arnošt of Pardubice in the mid-14th century. According to a well-known legend, he carved the statue of Our Lady himself from pear wood.

The year 1647 was of decisive importance in the history of Svatá Hora, when the Jesuits acquired the chapel – which had been relatively little known until then – and, based on the plans of Carlo Lurago and Father Benjamin Schleyer, they began to lavishly rebuild it into a magnificent church from 1658 onwards. The main construction of the complex took place between 1658 and 1675.
Gradually, it developed into one of the most famous Czech pilgrimage sites and a major centre of Marian devotion in Europe. This exceptionally valuable monument of 17th-century Czech Baroque was decorated by a number of artists, led by the world-renowned sculptor J. Brokoff, the painter P. Brandl and others.

Svatá Hora is characterised above all by the magnificent central church building, the Basilica of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary of Svatá Hora, towering on a terrace with a balustrade, surrounded by cloisters featuring lunette paintings and other artistic elements. Another pride of the church is the high altar – made entirely of silver.

At the north-eastern corner stands a two-storey residence, and on the same side is the entrance to the Svatohorské Stairs, which are 450 metres long and connect the church with the town. This staircase, which was originally open to the sky and first mentioned in 1685, was later roofed over, and K. I. Dientzenhofer contributed to its final architectural form, dating from 1727–1728.

The Svatá Hora complex also includes several monuments situated immediately adjacent to the pilgrimage site, such as a stone column with a gilded statue of Our Lady of Svatá Hora, the Calvary sculpture group dating from 1692, the Svatohorský (St Wenceslas) Oak, the Marian Spring and the Way of the Cross.

Svatá Hora is a famous place of pilgrimage and an important centre of Marian devotion in Europe.

Address:

Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary – Svatá Hora, Příbram II
Roman Catholic Parish of Příbram – Svatá Hora, tel. 318 429 930