Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ginity.Godintervened andshegrewabeard,whereuponthekingofSicilybrokeoffthemar-
riage and her father had her crucified. Wilgefortis thus became the patron saint of unhappily
marriedwomen,andisdepictedbeardedonthecross(andeasilymistakenforChristindrag).
Treasury
You can get some idea of the Loreta's serious financial backing in the
treasury
(on the first
floor of the west wing), much ransacked over the years but still stuffed full of gold. The light
fittingsareaCommunistperiodpiece,butmostfolkcomeheretogawpatthemasterexhibit,
an outrageous Viennese silver monstrance called the
PragueSun
(Pražské slunce), designed
byFischervonErlachin1699andstuddedwith6222diamondstakenfromtheweddingdress
of Countess Kolovrat, who made the Loreta sole heir to her fortune.
Strahovský klášter (Strahov Monastery)
Strahovské nádvoří 1•
strahovmonastery.cz
Thearcadedstreet-cum-squareofPohořelec,westofLoretánskénáměstí,leadstothechunky
remnants of the eighteenth-century zigzag fortifications that mark the edge of the old city,
as defined by Charles IV back in the fourteenth century. On the south side of Pohořelec is
the
Strahovský klášter
, founded in 1140 by the Premonstratensian order. Strahov was one
of the lucky few to escape Joseph II's 1783 dissolution of the monasteries, a feat it managed
by declaring itself a scholarly institution - the monks had, in fact, amassed one of the finest
libraries in Bohemia. It continued to function until shortly after the Communists took power,
when, along with all other religious establishments, it was closed down and most of its in-
mates thrown into prison; following the events of 1989, the white-robed monks returned.
The Baroque entrance tothe monastery istopped byastatue of
svNorbert
,twelfth-century
founder of the Premonstratensian order of clerical monks, whose relics were brought here in
1627.JustinsidethecobbledoutercourtyardisatinydeconsecratedchurchbuiltbyRudolfII
and dedicated to
svRoch
, protector against plagues, one of which had very nearly rampaged
through Prague in 1599; it's now an art gallery. The other church in this peaceful little court-
yardisthestill functioning twelfth-century monastery churchof
NanebezvetíPannyMarie
,
which was given its last remodelling in Baroque times by Anselmo Lurago - it's well worth
a peek for its colourful frescoes relating to St Norbert's life.
Leaving the monastery through the narrow doorway in the eastern wall, you enter the gar-
dens and orchards of the
Strahovská zahrada
, from where you can see the whole city in
perspective.ThegardensformpartofawoodedhillknownasPetřín,andthepathtotheright
contours round to the Stations of the Cross that lead up to the miniature Eiffel Tower aka the
