Christmas is a festival with strong spiritual and religious meaning. This makes it an ideal time to visit any of the numerous places of pilgrimage scattered around the Czech lands. One yuletide season is only enough time to visit a fraction of these places with strong spiritual attraction.
The Golden Way
You will see some of the most important of these pilgrimage sites by following the so-called Golden Way from Prague to Velehrad in South Moravia.
Prague
Start your pilgrimage in festive Prague at one of the most important religious symbols in all central Europe – the small wax effigy of the Bambino di Praga in the Church of Our Lady Victorious in the city’s Malá Strana District.
Svatá Hora
Příbram and the Svatá Hora place of pilgrimage – the next stop on your pilgrimage is a fine example of early Czech Baroque architecture dating from the late 17th century. This is also the most important Marian pilgrimage site in the country.
Zelená hora
The Church of St John of Nepomuk at Zelená hora in Žďár nad Sázavou, built by the famous architect Santini-Aichl, is a truly impressive sight. It was built in the shape of a five-pointed star and is a UNESCO-listed site.
Svatý Hostýn
Svatý Hostýn, the most frequented pilgrimage site in Moravia, where several services a day take place.
Velehrad
The last stop on the Golden Way is Velehrad (www.velehrad.cz). In 1985 the pope awarded the local basilica the prestigious ‘Golden Rose’ which only Lourdes, Guadalupe in Mexico and Czestochowa in Poland can boast.
