Via Sacra - Czech cycling pilgrimage route
Eight stations of the Via Sacra are located in the Czech Republic, in North Bohemia. For example, the Braunau monastery belongs to the most important sights of the Hradec Králové region and is situated amidst nature of sandstone formations and baroque monuments. The pilgrimage church of the Visitation of Mary in Hejnice/Haindorf originates from a Marian legend: a seriously ill woman and her child were miraculously healed because the family father had followed the instruction of an angel and placed the image of the Virgin Mary on a linden tree, carved by a woodcarver from Zittau. The tree and later its stump with the statue of Mater Formosa (“The noble graceful mother”) quickly became a pilgrimage site. From 1211 onwards, the figure was covered by increasingly larger chapels and churches. Haindorf became a significant pilgrimage site 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.
Directions
The circular route takes you, for example, from Zittau via Hejnice, Liberec, Mnichovo Hradiste, Novy Bor, Jablonné v Podještědí via Oybin and Rumburk back to Zittau, where there is a connection to the German cycling pilgrimage route Via Sacra.
Recommended equipment
The mandatory equipment in the Czech Republic includes: two independent brakes, white front reflector, orange reflectors on both sides of the pedals, orange reflectors in the spokes of the wheels. A bicycle repair kit is always useful on long journeys.
Safety notice
Cycling in the Czech Republic – safety recommendations: a bicycle helmet is mandatory for all cyclists under 18 years old in the Czech Republic. But it will save your life at any age.
Contact and arrival
Arrival to Liberec, for example via Dresden – A4 – Bautzen – Zittau – Liberec (new construction of the Upper Lusatia expressway B178) – no car vignette necessary on the expressway R35 (Zittau – Liberec – Turnov).