Pilgrim Places

Pilgrim Places

Pilgrimages in the Orlické Mountains have had a long tradition which is connected chiefly with the 18th century. This was a time of Baroque culture florescence which left its considerable traces both in the architecture and in mentality of the population. The then inward baroque piety found its outward form also in the glamour of the Roman Catholic Church festivities, nonetheless, it also prepared a breeding ground for a pilgrim tradition in a measure absolutely unprecedented in the region. All pilgrim places in the Orlické Mountains and in its foothills grew out of the cult of the Virgin Mary. Perhaps it might have been her to whom the worshippers addressed their pleas regarding her as a symbol of the motherly love and a protector of the family coherence. Through her adoration they were finding certitude, confidence and serenity against the surrounding troubled world. We invite you to visit the pilgrim places, too. They are places of contemplation, a place where presence encounters past in a quiet harmonic accord…

Deštné v Orlických horách – Dříš

The Chapel of the Virgin Mary

The predecessor of the existing chapel was a tree with an icon standing at a spring. In 1809 a wooden chapel was erected there and in 1995 it was replaced by a stone-built architecture. As a folk piety legend has it, the water springing from the chapel wall is curative. Near to the chapel there are renovated Stations of the Cross.
The major pilgrimage:
26th of July – Saint Ann

Neratov

The Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary

The first humble wooden church existed there already before the year 1570. It was replaced in 1667 – 68 with a stone-built architecture, remodeled in 1723 into a baroque church, which is considered to be one of the most beautiful structures the Baroque style created in the region. Its architects were a builder Karel Antonín Reina, a painter Jan Ignác Tiber and a sculptor from Litomyšl Václav Heinrich. At the end of WW2 the church was destructed and it is only in these years when it has been undergoing almost miraculous and grandiose renewal.
The major pilgrimage:
15th of August – The Assumption of the Virgin Mary

Homole u Borovnice

The Church of Our Lady of Sorrows

The church dominates countryside in the vast surroundings. Theresa Eleanor countess of Ugart had it built in the years 1688-1692 in the Baroque style. Pilgrim would ascent the church via 153 stairs decorated with stone sculptures.
The major pilgrimage:
4th Easter Sunday
the Sunday after the 15th of September

A Spring at Dobruška

The Chapel of the Virgin Mary

As a legend has is, lost eyesight of Tmej, a malster of Dobruška, was restored thanks to miraculous water from this forest spring. Probably in 1699 the spring was sheltered with a little wooden chapel. The first processions to this place were held in the mid-18th century and in 1755 a construction of a stone chapel was completed. The heyday of the pilgrim popularity is connected with the 30s of the 19th century when plague epidemics broke out in the region. In the vicinity of the chapel there can be seen Stations of the Cross dated to the early 20th century and a statue of St John Nepomucene, depicting the saint as a pilgrim, from the late 18th century.
The major pilgrimage :
8th of September – Nativity of Our Lady

Nové Město nad Metují – Rezek

The Chapel of Saint Barbara

A steward of the Nové Město nad Metují manor had a baroque chapel built at a spring with curative water in 1736. Later on, a little spa resort with a hotel appeared there.
The major pilgrimage:
Beginning of May (for details consult the parish in Nové Město nad Metují) 
 

Rokole near Nový Hrádek

The Chapel of the Virgin Mary

Folk piety deemed a local sprig to be miraculous and this belief gave rise to a pilgrim tradition. The original chapel was remodeled in 1859 to a current appearance. In the same year Stations of the Cross were built. Rokole´s popularity was increasing also in the broader region. In the 90s of the 20th century another little chapel consecrated to the Virgin Mary was constructed on the hill above the original chapel and gradually a whole pilgrim resort consisting of other buildings has been being developed by the Secular Institute of the Sisters of Mary.
The major pilgrimage:
Sunday after the 8th of September – Nativity of the Virgin Mary
 

Opočno

The Church of the Nativity of Our Lord

As an instrument of the intensified counter-reformation measures, in 1673 Lewis count of Colloredo initiated establishment of a monastic community of the Capuchin Order in Opočno. Together with the monastery also a church was built in the years 1676-78 by an Italian architect Bernardo Minelli. In Opočno there is held a special anniversary pilgrim festivity called “porcinkule”.
The major pilgrimage
First Sunday in August

Přepychy – Dřízenské údolí (The Dřízenské Valley)

The Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary

A wooden shelter with a cross was erected over a spring already in the 18th century. These constructions were later replaced with a wooden chapel which was remodeled in 1889 in a pseudo-classicist style. Especially father Alois Mádr had merit in the establishment and promotion of this pilgrim place. This recently renovated pilgrim resort comprises also of the Stations of the Cross.
The major pilgrimage:
Sunday after the 15th of August – The Assumption of the Virgin Mary

Wambierzyce (Vambeřice)

The Church of the Annunciation to the Virgin Mary

A tradition of pilgrimages to Wanbeřice can be traced back to the 13th century. Lewis knight of Pannwitz had an original wooden church replaced with a stone-built architecture. After successive alternations and renewals a monumental baroque remodeling of the church was commenced in 1715. This church became a destination of the Marian pilgrimages also from Bohemia. Seventy four little chapels built in 1681 – 1706 and accompanying Stations of the Cross earned for this pilgrim place its other name - „Silesian Jerusalem“. Vambeřice of today ranks among the foremost European pilgrim places. For long centuries it has been sought-after by pilgrims from Bohemia, chiefly from the neighboring borderlands.
The major pilgrimages:
31st of May – The Visitation of the Virgin Mary
15th of August – The Assumption of the Virgin Mary
8th of September – The Nativity of the Virgin Mary