Reblogged from the Magical World of G. Michael Vasey:

Velehrad is a small village with a significant past and is the center of an important pilgrimage in the Czech Republic. It is thought of as the 9th Century capital of the Slavic state of Great Moravia and recent archeological work has turned up some evidence of that period. These days though, it is know for the Basilica there. The Basilica of the Assumption and of St. Cyril and Methodius.

800 years ago, it is said that 12 Cistercian monks founded a monastery in Velehrad. A national pilgrimage to Velehrad takes place every July which draws thousands of pilgrims. Pope John Paul II visited the monastery in 1990, his first visit outside the country after the fall of Communism. On July 5th every year, the site is inundated with pilgrims to celebrate the evangelisation of the Slavs by the two Greek missionaries (Sts. Cyril and Methodius) in the 9th century. It features some Romanesque remnants and is a very beautiful building.

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