Loreta is a large pilgrimage destination in Hradčany, a district of Prague. It consists of a cloister, the church of the Lord’s Birth, a Holy Hut and the clock tower with a famous chime.
The construction had started in 1626 and the Holy Hut was blessed on March 25, 1631. The architect was the Italian Giovanni Orsi; the project was financed by a noblewoman Kateřina Benigna of the Lobkowicz family. Fifty years later the place of pilgrimage was already surrounded by cloisters to which after 1740 an upper storey by Kilián Ignác Dientzenhofer.
The Face wall in Baroque style was designed by the architects Christoph Dientzenhofer and Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer and added at the beginning of the 18th century.
The chapel is most known for its peal, heard since August 15, 1695. It was constructed during 1694 by watchmaker Peter Neumann from thirty smaller and larger bells.
Today the building also hosts large collection of liturgical tools, mainly monstrances. Exhibitions are occasionally held on the first floor of the cloister.
References:Sigmaringen Castle was first mentioned in the year 1077 in the chronicles of Petershausen monastery. The oldest parts of the castle are concealed beneath the alterations made during the 17th and the 19th centuries. The secret of the earliest settlement built on this defendable rock will never be fully revealed: large-scale excavation work would be necessary, which the extensive land development renders impossible. Judging from the many Roman remains unearthed in the area around Sigmaringen, the 12th century keep known as the 'Roman Tower' could be traced back to a Roman predecessor.
The castle remains that have been preserved (gate, great hall and keep) date back to the Staufer period around 1200. The castle remains were integrated into subsequent buildings. The foundations of the castle buildings are to a large extent identical to the surrounding castle wall.
These remains give us a good idea of how the castle might have looked during the 12th century.