Loreta is a

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

destination in

Hradčany Hradčany (; german: Hradschin), the Castle District, is the district of the city of Prague, Czech Republic surrounding Prague Castle. The castle is one of the biggest in the world at about in length and an average of about wide. Its history ...

, a district of

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. It consists of a

cloister A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a ...

, the church of the Lord’s Birth, the ''Santa Casa'' and a clock tower with a famous chime. Construction started in 1626 and the Holy Hut was blessed on 25 March 1631. The architect was the Italian Giovanni Orsi, and the project was financed by Kateřina Benigna, a noblewoman of the

Lobkowicz The House of Lobkowicz (''Lobkovicové'' in modern Czech, sg. ''z Lobkovic''; ''Lobkowitz'' in German) is a Czech noble family that dates back to the 14th century and is one of the oldest Bohemian noble families. The family also belong to the Ge ...

family. Fifty years later the place of pilgrimage was surrounded by cloisters, to which an upper storey was added after 1740 by

Kilián Ignác Dientzenhofer Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer ( cs, Kilián Ignác Dientzenhofer) (1 September 1689, Prague – 18 December 1751) was a Bohemian architect of the Baroque era. He was the fifth son of the German architect Christoph Dientzenhofer and the Bohemian-Ger ...

. The

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

facade was designed by the architects

Christoph Dientzenhofer Christoph Dientzenhofer ( cs, Kryštof Dientzenhofer) (born 7 July 1655 in St. Margarethen near Brannenburg, Landkreis Rosenheim - 20 June 1722 in Prague)Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer ( cs, Kilián Ignác Dientzenhofer) (1 September 1689, Prague – 18 December 1751) was a Bohemian architect of the Baroque era. He was the fifth son of the German architect Christoph Dientzenhofer and the Bohemian-German ...

, and added at the beginning of the 18th century. The chapel is most known for its

peal In campanology (bell ringing), a peal is the special name given to a specific type of performance of change ringing which meets certain exacting conditions for duration, complexity and quality. The definition of a peal has changed considerably o ...

, heard since August 15, 1695. It was constructed during 1694 by watchmaker Peter Neumann from thirty smaller and larger

bell A bell is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be made by an inter ...

s. Today the building also houses a large collection of liturgical tools, mainly

monstrance A monstrance, also known as an ostensorium (or an ostensory), is a vessel used in Roman Catholic, Old Catholic, High Church Lutheran and Anglican churches for the display on an altar of some object of piety, such as the consecrated Eucharistic Sa ...

s. Exhibitions are occasionally held on the first floor of the cloister. Neighbouring Loreta Square ( cs, Loretánské náměstí) is named after Loreta.

Notes

External links

Loreta's website, very detailed description
(cz, en)
Loreta - Prague-wiki
{{Authority control Religious buildings and structures completed in 1631 Catholic church buildings in the Czech Republic Churches in Prague 1 Buildings and structures in Prague Tourist attractions in Prague 1631 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire

See also

Notes

External links