The Basilica on St. Hill is an unmissable dominant and the pride of Olomouc. The Church of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary on Svatý Kopeček has been the destination of thousands of pilgrims for centuries and even today it is one of the most famous and most visited pilgrimage sites in the Czech Republic.
The temple was built by the Premonstratensians in the 17th and 18th centuries on the site of a chapel destroyed by the Swedes. The orientation of the temple is unique, as the main axis does not run from east to west, but the temple faces the mother monastery Hradisko. The priest who blessed the faithful from the altar is said to have blessed the monastery as well when the doors were open. It is a Baroque church with a two-tower front. The church building is flanked by side wings with attics bearing statues of the twelve apostles and two saints - St Sebastian and St Roch. Behind the church there is an ambulatory and a chapel of the Virgin Mary. The single-nave interior of the church is arched in the central part by a massive dome.
Many local and foreign artists participated in the interior decoration of the nave. Jan Kryštof Handke painted the pendentives of the dome with allegories of the four continents. In the Chapel of St. Augustine there is an altarpiece by J. K. Handke, which is considered one of the finest works of the painter.
Today the fame of the pilgrimage site has been restored and unforgettable pilgrimages, services and church concerts are held here every year. In 1995, Pope John Paul II elevated the church to the status of Basilica Minor.
References:Stobi was an ancient town of Paeonia located near Gradsko. It is considered by many to be the most famous archaeological site in North Macedonia. Stobi was built where the Erigon (Crna River) joins the Axios (Vardar), making it strategically important as a center for both trade and warfare.
Stobi developed from a Paeonian settlement established in the Archaic period. It is believed that in 217 BCE, Philip V annexed Paionia during his campaign against the Dardani who had entered Bylazora, the largest Paeonian town.
The city was first mentioned in writing by the historian Livy, in connection with a victory of Philip V of Macedon over the Dardani in 197 BC. In 168 BC, the Romans defeated Perseus and Macedonia was divided into four nominally independent republics. In 148 BC, the four areas of Macedonia were brought together in a unified Roman province. In the reign of Augustus the city grew in size and population.