Loreta
Encyclopedia
Pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...
destination in Hradčany
Hradcany
Hradčany , the Castle District, is the district of the city of Prague, Czech Republic, surrounding the Prague Castle.The castle is said to be the biggest castle in the world at about 570 meters in length and an average of about 130 meters wide. Its history stretches back to the 9th century...
, a district of Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
. It consists of a cloister
Cloister
A cloister is a rectangular open space surrounded by covered walks or open galleries, with open arcades on the inner side, running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth...
, the church of the Lord’s Birth, a Holy Hut and the clock tower with a famous chime
Chime (bell instrument)
A carillon-like instrument with fewer than 23 bells is called a chime.American chimes usually have one to one and a half diatonic octaves. Many chimes play an automated piece of music. Prior to 1900, chime bells typically lacked dynamic variation and the inner tuning required to permit the use of...
.
The construction had started in 1626 and the Holy Hut was blessed on March 25, 1631. The architect was the Italian Giovanno Orsi; the project was financed by a noblewoman of the Lobkowitz family.
The Face wall in Baroque style was designed by the architects Christoph Dientzenhofer and Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer and added at the beginning of the 18th century.
The chapel is most known for its peal
Peal
A peal is the name given to a specific type of performance of change ringing. The precise definition of a peal has changed considerably over the years...
, heard since August 15, 1695. It was constructed during 1694 by watchmaker Peter Neumann
Peter Neumann
Peter Neumann may refer to:*Peter Neumann , Canadian football player*Peter G. Neumann, computer scientist*Peter M. Neumann, OBE, British mathematician*Peter Neumann , Director of ICSR...
from thirty smaller and larger bell
Bell (instrument)
A bell is a simple sound-making device. The bell is a percussion instrument and an idiophone. Its form is usually a hollow, cup-shaped object, which resonates upon being struck...
s.
Today the building also hosts large collection of liturgical tools, mainly monstrance
Monstrance
A monstrance is the vessel used in the Roman Catholic, Old Catholic, and Anglican churches to display the consecrated Eucharistic host, during Eucharistic adoration or Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. Created in the medieval period for the public display of relics, the monstrance today is...
s. Exhibitions are occasionally held on the first floor of the cloister.
Neighbouring Loreta Square (Loretánské náměstí) is named after Loreta.
External links
See also
- Loretan Church in PragaChurch of Our Lady of LoretoThe Church of Our Lady of Loreto is an ornate church in Praga, a district of Warsaw, Poland, on the east bank of the Vistula River. The church stands on Ratuszowa Street and is Praga’s oldest monument...