Velehrad is a municipality and village in

Uherské Hradiště District Uherské Hradiště District ( cs, okres Uherské Hradiště) is a district ('' okres'') within the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the town of Uherské Hradiště. List of municipalities Babice - Bánov - Bílovice - Bojkov ...

in the

Zlín Region Zlín Region ( cs, Zlínský kraj; , ) is an administrative unit ( cs, kraj) of the Czech Republic, located in the south-eastern part of the historical region of Moravia. It is named after its capital Zlín. Together with the Olomouc Region it f ...

of the

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 has about 1,100 inhabitants. It is known as a pilgrimage site.

Geography

Most of the municipality lies in the Chřiby highlands. The built-up area lies in the valley of the stream Salaška.

History

The first written mention of Velingrad is from 1141. It was however the old name of neighbouring Staré Město, from which the name Velehrad was derived. In 1205,

Margrave of Moravia The Margraviate of Moravia ( cs, Markrabství moravské; german: Markgrafschaft Mähren) was one of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown within the Holy Roman Empire existing from 1182 to 1918. It was officially administrated by a margrave in cooperat ...

Vladislaus III founded here a Cistercian monastery. The Romanesque monastery complex was finished in the first half of the 13th century. After the monastery was abolished in 1784 by a decree of Emperor

Joseph II Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 un ...

, the people who worked in the monastery founded a municipality. The dilapidated monastery complex was gradually repaired in the mid-19th century. Since 1890 it has been managed by

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

. It became an important

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 ...

site with the annual participation of tens of thousands of pilgrims. In the 1990s it was visited twice by Pope

John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

Sights

Velehrad is the most famous pilgrimage site in the Czech Republic. Sights include: *The

Basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's Forum (Roman), forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building ...

of the

Assumption of Mary The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it in 1950 in his apostolic constitution '' Munificentissimus Deus'' as follows: We proclaim and define it to be a dogma revealed by ...

and

Saints Cyril and Methodius Cyril (born Constantine, 826–869) and Methodius (815–885) were two brothers and Byzantine Christian theologians and missionaries. For their work evangelizing the Slavs, they are known as the "Apostles to the Slavs". They are credited wi ...

*The former Cistercian monastery *The Velehrad house of Saints Cyril and Methodius *Velehrad cemetery *The memorial stone called the "King's table" (''Králův stůl'') *Rosary Pilgrimage Route with Stations of the Cross *Columns and statues of St.

John of Nepomuk John of Nepomuk (or John Nepomucene) ( cs, Jan Nepomucký; german: Johannes Nepomuk; la, Ioannes Nepomucenus) ( 1345 – 20 March 1393) was the saint of Bohemia (Czech Republic) who was drowned in the Vltava river at the behest of Wenceslaus ...

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

and the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

Notable people

* Otmar Oliva (born 1952), sculptor; lives and works here

References

External links

* {{authority control Villages in Uherské Hradiště District Catholic pilgrimage sites