Pilgrimage Church
of the Seven Joys of the Virgin
The Pilgrimage church of the
Seven Joys of the Virgin is situated close to the well-known seven-source
spring. It is a baroque building founded in 1733 (consecrated on May 5, 1734).
The Chapel of Saint Jude the Apostle adjoins the church at the north. The whole
complex was rebuilt in the spirit of classicism in 1830 and 1831.
Nowadays, the main altar of the
Seven Joys of the Virgin rises in presbytery. It dates back to 1886 and it was
made by the cabinetmaker Kajetán Pejskar and the sculptor Ferdinand Demetze.
The statuette of Virgin Mary is laid in a glass niche at the upper part of the
altar.
The Statuette of the Seven Joys
of the Virgin (also called as Schwadowitz Madonna) was made in 1715 by the
woodcarver Jan Karásek. It was first hanged in a wooden cabinet on a withered
cherry tree. Therefore, it is sometimes called Our Lady of Cherry Tree. The
statuette was transferred to the church in 1734 during its consecration.
Remains of St. John of Nepomuk (Czech national saint) are put in a decorated
base of the statuette. There are ten statues of angels around the glass niche.
Each of them plays some musical instrument. The dove representing Holy Spirit
is situated above the glass niche for the statuette.
In the side niches, there are
statues of Saints Cyril and Methodius, the apostles that brought the
Christianity to the Czech lands.
The current appearance of
presbytery dates back to 1975. The sacrificial table has three copper
engravings at the front. There is
pictured Virgin Mary of Seven Sorrows (in the left), the head of Christ Crowned
with Thorns (in the middle) and St. Joseph holding the lily of virtue. The
ambon has a copper engraving as well. St. John the Evangelist with his
attribute, the eagle, is represented in there. Sculpture of crucified Jesus
Christ at his cross from 1899 hangs on the side wall of presbytery opposite to
the wooden pulpit. Above him, there is a statue of Virgin Mary of Seven Sorrows
from 1901.
There are two lateral alters at
the church. The Altar of St. John of Nepomuk from 1887 is situated next to the
pulpit. The Altar of St. Barbara, the patroness saint of miners, was made in
1888 and it is located at the right side of the
church.
The Way of the Cross is compound
of 14 coloured wooden panels. It was made in 1903 by the painter Ignác Russ.
You can find similar Stations of the Cross at the Marian Garden that extends at
the hillside above the church.
The pipe organ, situated at choir
loft, dates back to 1901. It was fabricated by the company of Jan Tuček at
Kutná Hora. It has two keyboards, one pedal keyboard and 17 stops which allow
the organist to control ranks of pipes sound at a given time.
The murals of the Seven Joys of
the Virgin were made in 1899 by Ludvík Nejedlý (except of number six which was
made in 1982 by Iva Beščecová):
1st Joy - The Annunciation to the
Blessed Virgin Mary by the angel Gabriel
2nd Joy - The Visitation of Mary
with her relative Elizabeth
3rd Joy - The Nativity of Jesus
in Bethlehem
4th Joy - The Presentation of
Jesus at the Temple
5th Joy - The Finding twelve
years old Jesus in the Temple
6th Joy - Resurrected Jesus
appears to his Mother (there could be also pictured Assumption of Mary)
7th Joy - The Coronation of the
Virgin Mary
In the ceiling there are also
murals of all four evangelists, St. Matthew, St. Mark, St. Luke and St.
John. Furthermore, there is a fresco of
Immaculata (Virgin Mary of Immaculate Conception) who stands between two angels
having a moon under her foot and 12 stars around her head and crushing
poisonous snake by her foot.