This rectangular marble building is far more reminiscent of a classical temple than a Catholic place of worship. It is modeled on the Italian Santa Casa, which, according to legend, was the house of the Virgin Mary, and she stood outside as the Archangel Gabriel broke the news of her pregnancy. The Prague Santa Casa was constructed on the orders of Baroness Benigna Katherina von Lobkowicz , whose portrait features in the Loreto treasury, in 1626. She and her family are buried under the chapel.
There are thirty bells suspended on a Baroque tower, which sound beautifully every hour between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. in order to remind pilgrims to pray. The carillon itself was constructed by Amsterdam bellmaker Claudy Fremy between 1683 and 1691 under the patronage of a rich Prague merchant, Eberhard von Glauchau. Glauchau made the donation after his comatose daughter miraculously awoke, claiming to have seen a vision of the Loreto tower surrounded by angels, each ringing a bell. In reality, each bell had its own rich patron, the first of whom was Emperor Leopold I. The carillon finally rang for the first time in 1695.
On the first floor of the building is the treasury. As you walk up the stairs you will be confronted with a life-sized painted wooden crucifix, gorily painted as if Christ's wounds were fresh. Housed in the treasury are Loreto's holy paraphernalia, too precious to risk leaving in the chapels. This collection was donated over time by the Bohemian nobility. Amongst the jewel-incrusted mantles, golden goblets and silver candlesticks is the breathtaking diamond ostensory, “The Prague Sun,” which contains 6,222 diamonds. It was made at the behest of Countess Ludmila Eva Frances Kolowrat, by M. Stegne and J.B. Khunischbauer, between 1696 and 1699.
After exiting the Santa Casa your next stop is the imposing Church of the Nativity. It was expanded from an alcove chapel upon the orders of Countess Maria Margarethe Waldstein, between 1722 and 1737, by Kryštof Dientzenthofer and his son, Kilián Ignac. Later it was expanded by J.J. Aichbauer.
Once you step inside you will be momentarily overwhelmed by the mixture of colourful frescoes, the marble altar, which displays a particularly impressive tabernacle of gold and silver, and the painting “The Nativity of Christ”.
