March 28th was a beautiful, sunny day, so I spent it adventuring around Prague - first stop the Loretto. This artistic and historic monument from the 17th century is still an important pilgrimage site, and due to it's religious nature no photography is allowed inside it's walls. From outside, however, I got this shot of one of many cherubic statues with the main facade in the background.
The inside of the complex is beautiful, which is centered around the Santa Casa - a copy of the house of the Virgin Mary (which, story has it, was flown from Nazareth to Italy by angels), which apparently contains two beams and a brick from the original.
More obscure points of interest include the Chapel of Our Lady of Sorrows - in honour of a devout Portugese princess who desperately wanted to get out of the marriage her father had arranged. She spent all night praying for the marriage to be cancelled, and when she awoke with a large beard, her prayers were answered (Her father had her crucified, however... I guess he didn't see it as such a blessing).
Also interesting are the skeletons of two saints behind the altar of the main chapel, which have been dressed in nobles' clothing and, luckily for the parishioners, had wax masks of their faces placed over the empty skulls. Cheery...but somehow the place was still pretty!
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