Tours

You can explore the cloisters and the basilica yourself during opening hours (7:00-18:00). To make this place truly accessible to everyone, please follow these rules:

• turn off your mobile phones

• do not bring animals into the area, even in portable boxes

• do not smoke, including electronic cigarettes

• do not consume food or drinks

• do not speak loudly

• do not run

• do not enter with bicycles or scooters.

Our guides are at your disposal, you can get more information in the shop.

Tours organized by travel agencies and tourist groups are required to register at the info center, a guided tour of the Holy Mountain is only possible with our guide!

With a guide, you will get to know the Holy Mountain in an interesting and detailed way. You can choose from several circuits:

<details class="accordion"> <summary>THE AREA</summary> <p>Are you visiting Svatá Hora for the first time? A guided tour will show you the most interesting things this pilgrimage site has to offer. If you want to experience something unique, you can conclude the tour with an organ concert.
Admission:</p>
<ul>
<li>in Czech: 150 CZK/person (full admission), 90 CZK/person (students and seniors), 320 CZK (family admission), children under 6 free, 6-14 years 90 CZK/person</li>
<li>in English/German (upon prior reservation via email at <a href="mailto:office@farnost-svatahora.cz">office@farnost-svatahora.cz</a>): 200 CZK/person (full admission), 180 CZK/person (students and seniors)</li>
<li>the tour can also include a half-hour organ concert in the Basilica of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary (minimum 10 people + 50% of the ticket price)</li>
</ul>

<p><b>Opening Hours:</b><br>
Monday–Saturday
<ul>
<li>October–April 9:00 AM–4:00 PM</li>
<li>May–September 9:00 AM–5:00 PM</li>
</ul>
<p>Sunday</p>
<ul>
<li>year-round 9:00 AM–5:00 PM</li>
</ul>
</p>

<p>What will you see?<br>
<b>The Cloisters (Ambity)</b><br>
Few things are as characteristic of Svatá Hora as its cloisters. They form a rectangle and were built between 1659–1670 according to the design of the builder Carlo Lurago. They have nine vaulting fields on the north and south sides, and seven on the east and west sides.

<br><b>Prague, Mníšek, Pilsen, and Březnice Chapels</b><br>
The corners of the cloisters are enclosed by octagonal chapels, covered with a bell-shaped roof with a lantern. In them, you can admire precious altar paintings, for example. And when you look up, you will see the most unique frescoes and stucco work. The tour will also tell you where the names of these chapels came from.

<br><b>Chapel of Mary Magdalene</b><br>
The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene represents a true jewel of the circuit. It is decorated with artificial stalactites designed to give the impression of a cave, known as a grotto. The money for its construction was donated by General Joanes de Lacron. The stucco work was carried out by G. B. Cometa in 1666. The painting decoration, depicting scenes from the life of St. Mary Magdalene, dates from 1667.

<br><b>Basilica of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary</b><br>
The tour ends in the Basilica of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary itself, which is a kind of center of the whole of Svatá Hora. It stands on the site of a presumed medieval church. The temple is surrounded on all sides by Baroque chapels, the oldest of which is the Chapel of St. Ignatius and St. Francis Xavier. The most valuable work of art on Svatá Hora is the main altar in the basilica and the miraculous statue of the Virgin Mary of Svatá Hora.

</p> </details> 
<details class="accordion"> <summary>BELL TOWER</summary> <p>What will you see?
<br><b>Bell Tower (Zvonice)</b><br>
It is said that a church without bells is like a body without a soul. The Svatá Hora bells are also supplemented by a famous carillon, which rings out before every odd hour and before noon. Visit the bell tower and enjoy a unique view of Příbram. The bell tower is located in a low tower with a dome-shaped, copper-clad roof. Eight bells are hung in the tower. Five of them are used for ringing. Three bells are non-swinging and, together with the other five, form the carillon, which plays every odd hour, three minutes before the hour strikes, the refrain of the Svatá Hora Hail Mary: "Be merciful to us, intercede for us, O Virgin Mary." The bells date from 1934 and 1935, from the Rudolf Perner bell foundry. The largest and heaviest of the bells, called Maria, weighs 2,346 kilograms.

<br><b>All Souls' Chapel (Dušičková kaple)</b><br>
The small octagonal chapel under the bell tower, called All Souls', is dedicated to the Virgin Mary Helper of Souls in Purgatory. The paintings on the ceiling, despite many restoration interventions, are one of the few originally early Baroque ones where the authorship of Christian Dittmann is still evident. A door located to the left of the altar leads to the bell tower.
<ul><li>Admission: 70 CZK</li>
<li>Tour duration: 25 min</li>
<li>Max. number of people: 15</li>
<li>Note: It is necessary to overcome steep steps at the beginning</li>
</ul>
</p> </details> 
<details class="accordion"> <summary>CELLARS</summary> <p>
The residence was founded on a rocky slope that descends quite steeply towards the north. Historical floor levels were discovered in the cellar spaces beneath the provostship, which are arranged in two floors.

What will you see?
<br><b>Construction of the Residence</b><br>
The eastern cellar wing of the Svatá Hora Jesuit residence was completed in the 1690s. The adjacent northern and western wings remained only in the plans. Traces of preparation for the construction of the western wing remain only in the form of "šmorce" (construction traces).

<br><b>Cellar Modifications and Reconstructions</b><br>
The residence was founded on a rocky slope that descends quite steeply towards the north. The builders respected the natural terrain, and for this reason, the rooms are essentially above the level of the natural terrain. When it became clear that the construction of the other two wings of the residence would not take place for the time being, the layout of the staircases was changed.

<br><b>Underground Dormitory for Singers</b><br>
The first room on the semi-basement floor (today a concert hall) was intended to be the dormitory for musicians and singers, which is evidenced by the missing paving where the stove was located. Of the entire floor, only this room was planned to have a stove (see plan). The window openings, now bricked up, originally illuminated the room well.

<br><b>Discovered Foundations of an Earlier Building</b><br>
In the middle room, various niches are visible in the walls, likely from different reconstructions and connections. An external entrance to the musicians' dormitory was originally planned here to prevent the boys from disturbing others. Beneath the floor of this room, structures pointing to an older building that existed before the construction of the residence were found.

<br><b>Black Kitchen (Černá kuchyně)</b><br>
The stairs, which today lead to a bricked-up entrance niche from the semi-basement (2nd underground floor), previously led to the former "black kitchen," which now serves as a lecture hall. Through the entrance, which is now bricked up, necessary food supplies were carried down into the cellar, and ashes from the fireplace were also carried away and poured into one of the unused spaces in the western part of the 1st cellar floor. In the original Jesuit plans, however, a grand staircase leading up to the upper floor of the residence was planned here.

<br><b>Wells</b><br>
Beneath the cellar floor of the original Jesuit residence, a sump was discovered, which was part of the historical water management system, and also an unburied well accessible from the adjacent corridor, which served as a source of utility water for the kitchen.
<ul><li>Admission: 70 CZK</li><li>Tour duration: 25 min</li><li>Max. number of people: 30</li></ul>
</p> </details> 
<details class="accordion"> <summary>CLOCK TOWER</summary> <p>
The mechanism of the tower clock in the exceptionally accessible space of the clock tower in the roof truss of the northern cloister is somewhat of a climbing challenge.<br>
What will you see?<br>
<b>The Clock</b><br>
The tour of the clock tower with the restored tower clock can only be completed with an expert commentary by the restorer Jiří Češka, who repaired and restarted the mechanism.<br>
<b>The Views</b><br>
Through the windows in the clock faces, it is possible to see Příbram from a bird's-eye view. Visitors thus have the unusual opportunity to not only see the mechanical clock mechanism running again after repair but also to enjoy the views of the surrounding Podbrdy landscape.

<ul>
<li>Admission: 120 CZK</li>
<li>Tour duration: 25 min</li>
<li>Max. number of people: 12</li>
<li>Note: The tour is physically demanding and includes passage through confined spaces.</li>
</li>
</ul>

</p> </details> 
<details class="accordion"> <summary>UPPER CORRIDOR AND RESIDENCE</summary> <p>
High vaults and decorated ceilings. The Bishop's Room with an inlaid floor and many beautiful pieces of period furnishings.<br>
What will you see?<br>
<b>Upper Corridor</b><br>
As part of this tour circuit, you will have the opportunity to hear the ticking of the newly restored Baroque floor clock in the so-called Bishop's Room. At the same time, you can view the upper corridor of the provostship itself, decorated with a number of portraits of personalities significant to the history of Svatá Hora.<br>

<b>Treasury (Klenotnice)</b><br>
If you decide to add a tour of the Treasury to the Upper Corridor tour, you will also see an exhibition of reliquaries and relics. Already the Czech King and Roman Emperor Charles IV indulged in a passion for collecting, especially regarding the relics of saints. The tradition of venerating these "relics" is alive to this day. Learn about the types and forms of this veneration, as well as the filigree work of goldsmiths and carvers associated with it.
<ul><li>Admission 70 CZK</li>
<li>Tour duration 20 min</li>
<li>Max. number of people: 30</li>
</ul>

</p> </details>