Svata Hora

Svata Hora stands on a hill above Pribram and is the oldest and most important Marian pilgrimage place in Bohemia, built around a small carved wooden statue of the Virgin traditionally attributed to Arnost of Pardubice, the first archbishop of Prague. The complex was raised between 1658 and 1675, largely to designs by Carlo Lurago, as a square of cloisters with corner chapels enclosing a courtyard, with the basilica in the middle, the whole thing terraced on the hilltop and covered in stucco, frescoes and gilding. From the town below a covered stairway of about three hundred and sixty-five steps climbs to it, built in the 1720s, roofed the whole way and decorated with paintings. The Jesuits ran it until 1773 and Redemptorists since. There is a treasury with votive offerings, an organ, and views over the Brdy hills from the terrace.

What to look for

• A cloistered square - corner chapels enclosing the basilica on a terraced hilltop.
• A covered stairway - about 365 roofed and painted steps up from the town.
• The Marian statue - the carved figure the whole complex was built around.
• A treasury of votive offerings - accumulated over three centuries of pilgrimage.

When to go

April to October. Half a day.

What to expect

It is a working pilgrimage site - services close the basilica to sightseeing, and major feast days are crowded. The stairway is a steady climb. Guided access to the treasury is on set times.

Nearby

Pribram mining museum is below; the Brdy hills are west.