Article Maria Loreto

The Baroque pilgrimage site of Maria Loreto with the chapel of the Virgin Mary of Loratá was built in the years 1664–1689 by the Cheb Jesuits at the parish church of St. Ducha at the top of the hill northeast of the village Starý Hrozňatov.

A several-kilometer-long Stations of the Cross with 29 stops ascended to the area.

During the second half of the 20th century, however, the abandoned and unmaintained area completely fell into disrepair and turned into ruins.

Immediately after 1989, efforts began to save the area.

The costly overall reconstruction of the complex took place in the years 1992–2010 with the Czech-German cooperation.

The example of the Loreto chapel became the Holy House (Santa Casa) in the Renaissance basilica in Loreto, Italy. The Holy Hut is the name given to the alleged house of the Virgin Mary in Nazareth, Palestine, where the Annunciation of the Savior was born, Jesus was raised and the Holy Family lived. According to legend, the house was transferred by angels from Nazareth to Italy at the end of the 13th century.

The rector of the Cheb Jesuit College, Jan Jiří Dasselmann, was responsible for the construction of the pilgrimage site. The construction of the Loreta chapel was chosen in connection with the restoration of the Marian cult in the area. Countess Marie František of Heisenstein, born in Vrtba, donated 1,200 gold coins for the construction of the complex. Other donors included nobles, landowners, councilors, but also less affluent people. Abundant contributions came from the city of Cheb and the whole of Cheb, from Bohemia and Bavaria.