Via Sacra - Czech Pilgrimage Route

Eight stations of the Via Sacra are located in the Czech Republic, in Northern Bohemia. The pilgrimage church of Mariae Heimsuchung in Hejnice/Haindorf has its origin in a Marian legend: a seriously ill woman and her child were miraculously healed because the head of the family had followed the invitation of an angel and had placed the image of the Mother of God on a lime tree, crafted by a woodcarver from Zittau. The tree and later its stump with the statue of Mater Formosa ("The Noble Graceful Mother") quickly became a place of pilgrimage. Haindorf became an important place of pilgrimage and was often called Bohemian Mariazell. Currently, the church at the foot of the Jizera Mountains is one of the most important pilgrimage sites in Bohemia as well as in the tri-border area.