The construction of the monastery complex, which was named Loreta, began in 1626 at the request of the wealthy Czech noblewoman Katerina from the Lobkavitsy clan. The name comes from the town of Loreto in Italy, where, according to legend, the angels transferred from the Palestinian city of Nazareth the hut in which the mother of Jesus Christ lived - the Virgin Mary.
After the death of the Virgin Mary, the hut became a revered relic and was named Santa Casa, the Holy Hut. Similarities of the House of the Virgin were built in many European cities.
Construction in Prague was carried out according to the project of the famous architect Giovanni Batisto Orsi. There is an opinion that the original wooden beams brought from the hut in Loreto were used in the construction of the hut.
The Prague shrine eventually became a center of pilgrimage and could not accommodate a large number of parishioners, which caused the expansion of the complex of buildings, which began in 1730 under the guidance of talented masters Krishtof and Kilian Ignaz Dincenhofer, who decorated the magnificent facade in the architectural style of Baroque.
In the tower of Loreta there is a carillon with 27 bells cast in Amsterdam in the 17th century, which daily from 9 to 18 o'clock every hour plays the hymn to the Virgin Mary, "We praise you a thousand times." A museum is opened in Loreto, where the monastery treasury of the 16th – 18th centuries is represented, among which the most valuable is the Diamond Monstrance or the Prague Sun, adorned with 6,222 diamonds.
-Opening hours of Prague Loreta
Prague Loreta is open to museum visitors every day, including Saturdays and Sundays, as well as public holidays. Exposure inspection usually takes about 1 hour.
Summer period (from 1.4 to 31.10): from 9:00 to 17:00
Winter period from 1.11 to 31.03): from 9:30 - 16:00
Ticket price
Adult 150 kč
Grace 130 kč
Family 310 kč
How to get there
Tram
The most convenient way is to get to Prague Loreta by tram 22 to the Pohořelec stop and from there walk to Loreta Square (czech Loretánské náměstí) on foot for about 5 minutes.
Underground
To get to Loreta by metro, you need to take the green line A to Malostranská station, and then take tram 22 to the Pohořelec stop.
By car
The nearest paid parking is located on the Pohořelec square (about 5 minutes walk from Loreta).
