The connection of Bohemia and Moravia between Levý Hradec and Velehrad continues with its extreme touches to the ancient nodes of the spread of faith, education and culture, originally in the direction from east to west, as we know. Today, the pilgrimage trail, with a 40-year tradition, is mainly directed in the eastern direction towards Velehrad, the most important pilgrimage site in our country. From the Church of St. Clement in Levý Hradec, the oldest standing church in Bohemia, the trail winds its way through our metropolis via Prague Castle and then along the Vltava River past the ancient centre of Slavic learning, Emmaus under Vyšehrad. At Kunratice, it leaves Prague towards the famous Průhonice Park and continues to climb along the Botič river basin to its source, from where it sinks into the depths of the forests along the Sázava river.
Despite the fame of the local breweries in Velke Popovice and Kácov, this region is dominated by the town of Sázava with its monastery, where St. Procopius raised Slavic liturgy and writing for the western part of our country thousands of years ago. Passing the meanders of the Sázava with views of castles and chateaux in Rataj, Český Šternberk, Zruč, Ledeč or Světlá, our path will rest at another pilgrimage site at Ždár na Zelená Hora with the church of St. Jan Nepomucký, decorated with Santini’s architecture. After crossing the watershed, when we leave the Sázava basin and enter the Svratka basin, the local church of Saints Cyril and Methodius in Vítochov near Bystřice nad Pernštejnem reminds us of our approach to Velehrad, not only by coming to Moravia. From Bystřice, the road slowly yet steadily descends to Tišnov with its Romanesque monastery …. With tradition…
A stage further on, the Paulan monastery in Vranov, with its silent appearance, introduces us symbolically into the unbridled nature of the Moravian Karst, through which we travel through deep forests to Křtiny, to the pilgrimage church of the Virgin Mary’s name, again by chance from the hand of Santini. The final part of the pilgrimage trail through the famous Slavkov to the Chřiby Uplands offers a tour of the castle in Buchlov, as well as quiet and long forest trails along the Chřiby ridge until the moment when the longed-for descent to Velehrad and the view of the cathedral opens up before the pilgrim.