Loreta (The Loretto)

Located close to Prague Castle, the Loreta (also called Loretto in English) is religiously and historically significant, and is also an excellent example of Baroque architecture. However, to understand the religious and historical significance of the Loreta, it is necessary to know the legend of the Santa Casa. Supposedly, the house in Nazareth where the angel Gabriel told Mary that she was pregnant with Jesus Christ was transplanted to Loreto, Italy by angels in 1278 AD, where it became a holy place. In 1620, after the Protestants were defeated, the Catholics showed a renewed interest in the legend. As part of their promotional gimmick, fifty replicas of the Santa Casa were built in Bohemia and Moravia. Thus, from 1626 to 1631 the Loreta was built in Prague, commissioned by the Czech aristocrat Katerina of Lobkowicz.

The Loreta has since become an important pilgrimage destination, particularly because it is said to have in its Santa Casa two beams and one brick from the original in Nazareth. The Santa Casa, with its stucco design, was enclosed by cloisters in 1661, and its Baroque façade was added some 60 years later by the famous father-son team of designers, Christoph and Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer. Their opulent design is a reflection of the Counter Reformation and Ferdinand II’s effort to Catholicize the Czech people.

This is an especially excellent destination for those interested in the decorative arts. There is a Treasury in the Loreta with a wide collection of religious decorative artifacts, including the famous jeweled monstrance donated by Countess Wallenstein in 1721, encrusted with over 6,000 diamonds. Also of note is the shrine to the Virgin Mary, where each hour its 300-year-old Baroque clock tower chimes its sonorous bells. There are also several other chapels, sculptures, the church of the Lord’s Birth, and a Holy Hut to explore on the grounds of the Loreta, making this a popular and worthwhile destination for visitors.