Skalka pilgrimage site

At the end of the 17^th century, a set of buildings, later called Skalka, was erected on a rocky hill near the town of Mníšek pod Brdy not far from the monumental Karlštejn Castle. The first building in Baroque style was the Church of St. Mary Magdalene constructed at the end of the 17^th century by one of the very best Baroque architects - Christopher Dientzenhofer. Other buildings were completed later, such as the monastery located not far from the church and the hermitage on the very top of the hill. Both structures were built for Benedictine monks.

The Interior of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene was designed as an imitation of a cave, with stalactites hanging from the walls and ceilings and pebbles from the nearby River Berounka covering the floor. Unfortunately, only very few elements of the original design have been preserved to the present day.
The church and the other buildings suffered damage due to iron mining works conducted in the 1950s. The walls of the church and other buildings started to crack and hollows began to appear in the surrounding terrain. Despite this, some of the artwork has been preserved, such as the rare ceiling painting of St. Mary Magdalene by the Czech Baroque painter Petr Brandl, which was removed and transferred to another nearby church. Today, you can take a peek into the church during the summer period when it hosts exhibitions.