Twenty chapels once marked a pilgrim’s path. This is one of them. We stand before number seven of the pilgrimage route from Prague’s Capuchin Loreto to the Loreto in Hájek. Imagine the journey centuries ago. Pilgrims walked this very path. They sought solace and spiritual renewal. They visited each of these small chapels.
The pilgrimage route’s history is rich. It began in the 17th century. Count Florian Jetřich Žďárský vowed to build a Loreto. This was after his wife gave birth to a son. He’d prayed for a male heir. His prayers were answered. He fulfilled his vow. The original Loreto in Hájek was built in 1623. It was one of the first in Bohemia. It wasn’t perfect though. The count and his wife visited the Loreto in Italy. They decided their chapel wasn’t quite right. So they tore it down. They rebuilt it. This time using the Italian Loreto as a model. The Loreto in Hájek you see today is a near-perfect copy.
The pilgrimage route itself was established around 1720. Twenty wayside shrines were built. Each chapel featured distinctive paintings. These depicted scenes from the life of the Virgin Mary and Saint Francis. Many inscriptions accompanied the artwork. These were written in both Latin and German. A Franciscan friar named Ondřej Barteč created the iconography. His concept design survives. It’s dated June 28 1721. It was approved by the prior of the Doudleby monastery. Each chapel also displayed coats of arms. These showed the patrons who funded their construction. The first chapel bore the arms of the Prague Archbishop. The hierarchy of Bohemian society is clear. The most important figures’ coats of arms were closest to Prague.
Unfortunately time and urban development have taken their toll. Only twelve chapels remain. The pilgrimage route now passes under and over busy roads. But each surviving chapel stands as a testament. It is a testament to faith perseverance and the enduring power of religious devotion. This little chapel here number seven. It continues to evoke a sense of history and spirituality. Take a moment to reflect. Consider the centuries of pilgrims who have passed this way. Each seeking comfort or strength.
The pilgrimage to Hájek continued for centuries. It was a significant event. Particularly on the feast day of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. The Communist era brought hardship. The monastery was used as an internment camp. It later became a military store. The pilgrimage to Hájek was eventually revived. The Franciscan order returned. They reopened the monastery and the Loreto. Today. Pilgrims continue to walk this historic route. They visit the surviving chapels. They remember a tradition unbroken. A tradition that continues to connect us to the past. This small chapel before us number seven. It remains a quiet witness to that unbroken chain. A living link to Prague’s spiritual heritage.