Stairs to the mountains in the Czech Republic. Unusual stairs in the mountains of China. Observation tower in Usti region
Holy Mountain (Svatá Hora) near Pribram is a long-standing place of pilgrimage to the Blessed Virgin Mary. According to legend, the figurine of the Blessed Virgin Mary was carved from wood in the 14th century by the Prague Archbishop Arnošt of Pardubice. The same legends date the construction of the original chapel to the 13th century.
According to the 17th century Czech historian Boguslav Balbin, who studied the history of the Holy Mountain, the first chapel was built at the beginning of the 16th century. It was a very simple structure with a flat wooden ceiling, a clay floor and no doors. The oldest building plan of the Holy Mountain, which preceded the current one, dates back to approximately 1658.
Hermits have long settled on the Holy Mountain. The most famous of them was Jan Prochaska, who came from Nymburk in 1632. Arriving blind, accompanied by his grandson, he regained his sight a few days later. The case of Jan Prochazka is the first documented by doctors. Over time, the number of pilgrims increased, and in 1647, management of the Holy Mountain was transferred to the Březnice Jesuits.
In 1658, the famous Baroque architect Carlo Lurago was invited to the Holy Mountain from Prague to implement grandiose project construction of a place of pilgrimage. It has survived almost unchanged to this day. The pilgrimage complex was built and decorated as it received Money. Without exaggeration, the Holy Mountain can be called a national shrine, since among the donors there were not only rich people, but also poor parishioners.
The main shrine, the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, stands on a high stone platform, surrounded by a rectangular gallery. At each corner of the gallery there are closed octagonal chapels, which culminate in a bell-shaped roof. Several open chapels are located in the gallery. It is painted with stories about the Mother of God’s help to the suffering who came to the Holy Mountain. The Provost's residence is located on the outside, where there is also the famous Baroque staircase connecting the Holy Mountain with Příbram.
Svyatogorsk complex is a real treasure trove works of art. Both sculpture and painting are very valuable. The stucco work inside the temple and chapels is magnificent, and the harmony of colors is noble. The Prague and Brzeznice Gates, attributed to Christoph Dientzenhofer, are amazingly beautiful. Because most of The paintings are located almost in the open air; they have been restored many times and even rewritten.
Practical information:
Free admission.
The territory of the pilgrimage complex is open daily from 6:30 to 18:00
Address:Svatá Hora 591, 261 01 Příbram II
Website: http://svata-hora.cz/
Divine services: http://svata-hora.cz/ru/29/x
Book a tour: http://svata-hora.cz/user/orderGuide
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You must have JavaScript enabled to view it.
Phone: +420 318 429 930
How to get there: If you are coming from Prague by bus, you need to get off before reaching the bus station at the Jiráskovy sady stop, go to the opposite side and take bus number 2A, which stops next to the pilgrimage complex. If you are coming from another city, then from the bus station or railway station you should also take bus No. 2A. This bus runs at short intervals both on weekdays and on weekends. On weekdays you can also take bus number 6A. Schedule public transport Pribram can be found: http://www.pribram.eu/zivot-ve-meste/doprava-a-jizdni-rady.html
It is interesting to climb the Holy Mountain via a specially built baroque covered staircase from Dlouhá Street (near the Schody coffee shop, Dlouhá Street 160). The staircase is open daily in summer from 8.00 to 17.00, and in winter from 8.00 to 15.30.
The old castle staircase connects Malá Strana with east gate Prague Castle and is the border between Hradcany and Small Country. If you climb 121 steps, you will see the Fürstenberg Garden and a stunning view of Prague.
The length of the Old Castle Staircase is 230 m, and it runs between high walls. Behind the southern wall are the gardens and the Indian Embassy, and behind the northern wall is the former vineyard of St. Wenceslas (Svatováclavská vinice s Richterovou vilou), where at the beginning of the 10th century the saint worked, pressed grapes for wine and guarded it himself.
Sculpture by Karel Haschler (photo by Marek K)
You can see a monument on the stairs Karel Hashler(Karel Hašler), Czech singer-songwriter, actor, poet, composer, novelist, screenwriter, playwright and director.
In 2009, the staircase was restored: the steps were leveled, drains were made, and the stonework was restored.
Old castle staircase (Staré zámecké schody), photo Dmitry Tarakanov
Prague – the city of red tile roofs
118 00 Prague 1, Czech Republika
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The one who walks will master the road. Stairway to Chinese sky July 12th, 2013
Hua Shan (Flower Mountain) is one of the eight sacred mountains Taoism. Millions of Chinese make the pilgrimage to Hua Shan every year to visit the temples built right on top of the cliffs and admire the dizzying beauty along the way. Many people confuse Huashan ( Hua Shan Mountain) and Huanshan.
It sounds similar, but, as is already clear, the mountains are completely different. And the distance between them is 1000 km. The entrance to the mountain begins at the Taoist temple. On the paths there is a symbol of Taoism - the unity of yin and yang.
Most of the road will have to be climbed in continuous fog. Very beautiful, but a little damp. On the one hand, it’s good that you don’t feel thirsty, but on the other hand, the T-shirt doesn’t dry out at all, and it quickly becomes cold at the rest stop.
The road is very well maintained, first (about 4 km) a stone path going up quite steeply, then steps with handrails or chains instead of handrails (about 2-3 km). Every 400-500 m there are marks indicating how much has been covered. Every 300-400 meters there are tents selling drinks and chifan. There are toilets every 500 meters.
Periodically there are “attractions”. These are the places where every Chinese person dreams of leaving their mark. Such places are easily identified by red ribbons and locks (it seems that this tradition has long become international). It’s good that there are few such “attractions”. In other places, such traces of civilization are carefully removed by park staff.
The finale of the ascent will be the ascent along the Blue Dragon Ridge (blue dragon rib). This is a staircase going steeply upward, with a cliff on the right and a cliff on the left.
White fluffy clouds floating right at your feet add a touch of unreality to what is happening.
Transportation: Take the Xi'an-Huayin bus from Xi'an Chengdong Bus Station.
Hua Shan Mountain, Shaanxi Province, China.
One of the five sacred mountains of Taoism in China, located in the Qinling Range. The mountain is famous for its picturesque cliffs and the difficult, dangerous climb to the top. The mountain path connects many peaks up to the highest 2160 m.
South Peak (Falling Goose Peak) - 2154.9 m
North Peak -1614.9 m
West Peak - 2082.6 m
East Peak - 2096.2 m
Central Peak (Jade Girl) - 2037.8 m
This is unique mountain route. Along the road there are numerous Taoist monasteries, pagodas, temples, gates and bridges.
“If you have visited the five sacred mountains of China, then you don’t have to go to other mountains, and if you have visited Huashan, then you don’t need the other four.”, say the Chinese. The Hua Mountains were formerly called Xiyue, " Western Mountains" Name Huashan, “Blooming Mountain”, they received due to the similarity of their five peaks: East, West, South, North and Central - with a lotus flower.
Mountains Huashan are closely associated with Taoism and are mentioned in its early texts as one of the places suitable for Taoist religious practices and alchemy. They say that he Lao Tzu lived in these places. (Lao Tzu (6-5 centuries BC) is the semi-legendary founder of Taoism, one of the most significant movements in the philosophical thought of China; tradition calls him the author “Tao Te Ching” - “Books about the Daopath and good si-le-de”).
Most of the buildings were erected here during the reign of the dynasty Ming (1368–1644). The monastery has been well preserved to this day Yuquan XI century, temple Dongdao 1714 and the palace Zhengyue Yuan Dynasty. In December 1990, UNESCO introduced Huashan to the List of World Natural Heritage Sites.
This place is very popular destination domestic tourism. You can climb the mountain on foot or by cable car. Traditionally, pilgrims climbed only on foot and spent the night under one of the mountains, and the next day they walked around all five peaks.
This is the view you should see when you climb these steep stairs.
Remember, I showed you this staircase to heaven:
China, Taihang mountains
Residents of villages located near the Taihang Mountains (Henan Province) are much luckier, because they have the so-called “Stairway to Heaven” - a 300-foot spiral staircase leading to the top of one of the mountains.
Judging by the photo above, climbing it is a real pleasure. One of the officials working in the local administration spoke very poetically about this, without the slightest shadow of a doubt, grandiose structure as follows: “While climbing the stairs, even in the most intense heat, you feel a fresh breath of a cool breeze, an absolutely wonderful chirping reaches your ears birds, you hear the steps creaking. Can any despicable elevator or funicular railway compare with this miracle?
However, it is worth noting that the official himself found it difficult to answer the question - how many times did he himself have to climb to such a height?
We arrived in Pribram around noon and parked the car. Then (2006) it was free, as we don’t know now. The stairs led up through the garden. When approaching the monastery on the Holy Mountain, an oak tree grows, its age is several hundred years. Thick! The wife and son could not even grasp half of the “giant”; two more people were needed. Its girth is almost 6 meters and its height is 18 meters. We got up.
A spacious square opened before us, behind which there was a monastery complex fenced with a high wall. This has been a place of pilgrimage for Christians since the 16th century. Holy Mountain Pribram Czech Republic.
The origin of this place has many different legends. One of them says the following. At the foot of the hill, the knight Malovets was attacked by robbers, but the shining image of the Mother of God with a child in her arms that appeared above the hill put the robbers to flight. Knight Malovets ordered a chapel to be built on the hill as a sign of his miraculous salvation. This, according to legend, happened in the 13th century. And in the 17th century, an old man came to the blind weaver Jan Prochazka in a dream and ordered him to go to the Holy Mountain and worship the Mother of God. The weaver fulfilled the will of the elder. Arriving at the chapel on the mountain, he began to pray and received his sight. This miracle was passed on from mouth to mouth, and pilgrims began to come here in droves. To restore order, the chapel was transferred to the management of the Jesuits. The first thing they did was build a bell tower over the chapel, placing a bowl with a constantly burning fire there so that the pilgrims could see where to go.
They also built a staircase from the chapel to the town of Příbram.
Everyone who came to the chapel donated money, and with these funds a whole complex was built. Monastery Holy Mountain Pribram Czech Republic has a quadrangular shape. A basilica was erected on the site of the former chapel; several chapels are now located within its walls. The ceiling and lunettes are decorated with frescoes depicting the miracles performed by the Virgin Mary. In front of the entrance to the monastery complex, a sculpture of the Virgin Mary with a baby in her arms was installed,
made personally by the Czech Archbishop Arnost of Pardubice. According to Catholic canons, shrines can be crowned, so in 1732 this figurine was crowned.
Yes, all this is interesting and beautiful, but some popes, oddly enough, are ill for a long time and painfully, some die painfully. And prayers don't help. And the saints do not give them health. And the Virgin Mary looks at their illnesses without compassion. Why doesn't she listen to their pleas? Maybe dads are sinning? Is it because after the death of Jesus, the Pope’s teaching was greatly modified, bringing it closer to the conditions required by a democratic modern society, but the Mother of Jesus does not really like this and, despite all her holiness, the credit of trust of the Most Holy Theotokos in the Holy Church has exhausted itself? Wait and see.
On the slopes of the hill of the monastery complex Holy Mountain Pribram Czech Republic A cherry orchard was planted. We were at a time when the fruits were in their very juice. People walked around the garden and ate cherries, we also walked through the garden and tasted cherries grown on the holy land. Delicious, what can I say.
But we need to go further, there is an overnight stay and inspection ahead.