LORETO SANCTUARY Square

2:19

Today I’ll be accompanying you on your visit to the Loreto Sanctuary, one of the most delightful Baroque buildings in Prague, in the heart of the monumental Hradcany district. It is near the Castle, which it is linked to by a road on which you can see the sixteenth-century Hradcany Town Hall. On the same street once stood the house of Peter Parler, the architect who designed the Cathedral and Charles Bridge.

 

The sanctuary dominates Loreto Square with its lively shapes, slender central tower and pale plasterwork. This is one of the most beautiful squares in Prague, and is the heart of the Hradcany district, outside the Castle. The huge sloping space, with a large flower bed in the center, was created in 1703, when the area was cleared of tumbledown houses and an old cemetery.

On the stroke of every hour, you can hear a hymn played by the famous 27-bell carillon in the tower of the sanctuary. Also looking onto the square is the simple Capuchin Church, dating to 1601.

On the western side, opposite the sanctuary, a splendid backdrop is formed by the grand 150-meter-long façade of the Czernin Palace, built by Italian architects during the 17th century and today home to the Czech Foreign Ministry.

This magnificent building combines Late Renaissance elements, such as the imposing rusticated base, with Baroque solutions, such as the monumental sequence of massive Corinthian half-columns that mark the two upper floors. The capitals are decorated with distinctive grotesque faces.

To the right of the palace is the garden, accessible in summer, with the fine internal façade looking onto it.

 

An interesting fact: one of the most charming features of Prague is that magnificent monumental buildings alternate with delightfully romantic, atmospheric spots. The street that goes down to the right of the splendid Czernin Palace leads to the quiet, romantic little street called Novy svet, meaning “new world”, at the back of the Capuchin Convent. Flanked by old houses, it’s a popular walk for lovers.

TravelMate recommends
Choose the option
that suits you
Buy Prague
Permanently unlock the app with all content of Prague for
€ 8,99
Buy
Promotion
Unlock audio content of all available cities for 3 years at the promotional price
€ 19,99
Buy
Don't miss out!
PRAGUE INTRODUCTION
1 Audio

PRAGUE INTRODUCTION

Most of all, however, as you’ll immediately realize, Prague is one of the world’s capitals of art: of Gothic art in the 14th century, during the reign of Charles IV; of Renaissance art in...
THE WONDERS OF LOCAL CUISINE
1 Audio

THE WONDERS OF LOCAL CUISINE

The main ingredients in Bohemian cooking are meat, potatoes, and vegetables that grow on the hills around the city, especially mushrooms.In addition to soups made with vegetables or mushrooms, the...
CASTLE
10 Audio

CASTLE

Prague Castle is not just a single building, but a whole fortified district, perched on top of a hill, with just three gateways. Inside, visitors can admire a variety of buildings, towers, churches,...
OLD TOWN SQUARE
3 Audio

OLD TOWN SQUARE

It is located in the heart of the Old Town, in the market district, which until the end of the 18th century, like all the other districts of Prague, was considered a self-sufficient...
CHARLES BRIDGE
2 Audio

CHARLES BRIDGE

The bridge was built on the orders of Charles IV, the king who made fourteenth-century Prague one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and the task was entrusted to the German architect Peter...
MALA STRANA
4 Audio

MALA STRANA

Malà Strana starts out from the end of Charles Bridge and runs along the steep, narrow strip of hills between the Vltava and the Castle. The visitor has the impression that nothing has been...
JEWISH QUARTER
2 Audio

JEWISH QUARTER

The opening of Parizska Street at the beginning of the 20th century radically altered the appearance of the Jewish quarter. The old homes disappeared, but six synagogues, the Jewish Town Hall and the...
DANCING HOUSE
1 Audio

DANCING HOUSE

The “house” is in the New Town, a district with Art Nouveau buildings (or Secese, as the movement is known here), featuring a continuous variety of solutions and decorations, in keeping...
WENCESLAS SQUARE
3 Audio

WENCESLAS SQUARE

At one end, it is dominated by the large National Museum building, and at the Mustek end (meaning little bridge, recalling the bridge that once crossed the medieval moat), by the statue of Saint...
MUNICIPAL HOUSE
1 Audio

MUNICIPAL HOUSE

It is no coincidence that the palace and its decorations are the result of a collective effort from the finest Bohemian artists of the time, including the great Alfons Mucha, who designed the...
LORETO SANCTUARY
2 Audio

LORETO SANCTUARY

The sanctuary dominates Loreto Square with its lively shapes, slender central tower and pale plasterwork. This is one of the most beautiful squares in Prague, and is the heart of the Hradcany...
PETRIN HILL
1 Audio

PETRIN HILL

The park was created by combining the vegetable gardens of the monasteries with the gardens of the local aristocrats, which over the centuries took the place of the thick forest that once stretched...
CONVENT OF SAINT AGNES
1 Audio

CONVENT OF SAINT AGNES

The Convent of Saint Agnes is named after its founder, Agnes of Bohemia, the daughter of Ottokar I, King of Bohemia from 1198 to 1230. The young Agnes was raised in a convent, and although she had...
NATIONAL THEATRE
1 Audio

NATIONAL THEATRE

The National Theatre was built thanks to a group of patriots, who raised the funds among the population of Prague through donations from the noble classes, groups of workers and thousands of...
VYSEHRAD HILL
1 Audio

VYSEHRAD HILL

Legend has it that just before the year 1000, at the foot of the Vysehrad hill, Princess Libuse, founder of the first royal dynasty of Bohemia, pronounced the prophecy: “I can see a city whose...
TravelMate App
DOWNLOAD NOW
THE TRAVELMATE APP
Purchase your activation code, download the TravelMate App, and turn your smartphone into your personal travel companion!
Listen to audio guides about the wonders of the world with TravelMate.
HAVE FUN!