Renovation of Maria Loreto, Stary Hroznatov, Czech Republic
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ToRo61
N 50° 01.582 E 012° 23.924
33U E 313687 N 5544803
Renovation of the Great Way of the Cross to the Maria Loreto
Waymark Code: WMH8HQ
Location: Karlovarský kraj, Czechia
Date Posted: 06/07/2013
Views: 44
The magnificent Loreto with the pilgrimage Church of the Holy Ghost stands on a hill above the village of Starý Hroznatov (original name: Kiensberg, German: Altkinsberg) approximately 5 kilometres from Cheb. Built in 1664, it belongs among the most visited pilgrimage sites in Bohemia and Germany. During the Communist Regime devastation fell upon the Loreto complex. The dilapidated complex was reconstructed with financial aid of the inhabitants of Waldsassen, Germany after 1992. Documentation elaborated two years before had already emphasized the artistic and historical value of Maria Loreto. Nonetheless, after calculating the total costs for the renovation or demolition of the complex, an ascertainment was that neither solution was feasible due to a lack of funds. Therefore, Anton Hart, a native of Starý Hroznatov, who was living at the time in Waldsassen, founded a society for preserving and supporting the Maria Loreto pilgrimage site in 1992. The foundation meeting was held on February 11, 1992. The society was gradually joined by the town of Cheb and the Regional Monument Conservation Institute. The ceremony of the building a new belfry and the consecration of the renewed Chapel of Mercy took place two years later. From the following year on, regular monthly services were held at the Chapel of Mercy and in the Church of the Holy Ghost. Reconstruction continued, some of the Stations of the Cross were re-consecrated and the cemetery with a meditation park were renovated and fenced in 2000. Maria Loreto has found its lost beauty and it has become a place of gathering of Czechs and Germans and a symbol of conciliation.
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