Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Stará Boleslav

The Church of the Assumption of Our Lady is a one-nave Early Baroque cathedral with two towers. The architect Jacob de Vaccani built it in 1617-1623. The façade is decorated with  sculptures of the Czech saints – St. Ludmila, St. Procope, St.Wenceslas, St. Adalbert and St. Jan Nepomucký dated from the 18h century. In the church is a sacred object, the so-called Palladium of Bohemia, the aim of Marian pilgrimages. It is a Gothic copper relief of Madonna of Stará Boleslav. According to the legend Princess Libuše gave it to her grandson Wenceslas. He wore it on his neck till the day he was murdered by his brother in Stará Boleslav. Significant Baroque movables have preserved inside the church. The group of sculptures of the Assumption of Our Lady decorates the main altar as well as the sculptures of St. Kosma, St. Damian, St.Wenceslas and St. Ludmila. In 1674 the so-called Holly Path was founded from Prague to Boleslav, accompanied by 44 Baroque little chapels with niches decorated with frescoes. The distance between them corresponded with the length of the Charles Bridge and only a part of them has preserved.