Prague - Loreto
The building of the most famous Czech Loreto was inspired by a so-called saint cottage in the Italian town of Loreto. The saint cottage symbolizes the poor dwelling in Nazareth where Gabriel the Archangel preached to the Virgin that she would bear the Son of God.
Kateřina of Lobkowicz, wife of Vilém Popel of Lobkowitz, initiated the construction of the Loreto in 1626, inspired by the Italian Santa Casa of Loreto. The Capuchins took over the administration of the pilgrimage site. They built the first monastery in Bohemia in the neighborhood of the Loreto. After the Chapel of the Nativity was enlarged, it became the largest sanctuary of the whole Loreto complex.
The Baroque bell tower and the treasury with the Loreto treasure are world-famous. The most precious item is a diamond-encrusted monstrance, caller the Prague Sun. An octagonal tower with a dome and a lantern on the top rises above the front facade, in which 30 bells of the Loreto chimes are hidden.