SLOVAKIA Mariánska hora and the Basilica of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Mariánska Hora is one of the oldest and most important pilgrimage sites in Slovakia. The people of the Spiš region are said to have erected a chapel on the top of a hill called Mariánska hora where they had sheltered during the Tartar invasions in 1241/1242. Archaeologists have found traces of fortifications on the hill behind Mariánska hora, which is known as Burg or the Castle. The townspeople could have taken shelter on the fortified hill when Tartar forces passed through the region. To commemorate their deliverance the inhabitants of the nearby villages built a chapel on the hill below the fort and made a procession there every year to give thanks.

This was the beginnings of the first pilgrimage tradition. Franciscan friars who established a monastery in Levoča in the first half of the 14th century promoted the Marian cult. Every year thousands of pilgrims visit Mariánska hora in Levoča to receive spiritual strength and comfort. It was one of the stops on Holy Father John Paul II’s visit to Slovakia in 1995.

Basilica Minor on the hill Mariánska hora is the most important pilgrimage place in Slovakia. The church received the statues of Basilica Minor in 1984. It was built in 1908 in a Neo-Gothic style on the place of an old chapel dated dating back to the beginning of the 14th century. It has been a famous Slovak pilgrimage place site for many centuries.  The gracious sculpture of the Virgin Mary of Levoca, dating back to the 15thcentury, welcomes pilgrim crowds with her open arms. Along The pilgrimage route, there are 5 chapels and a lime tree alley named after Pope John Paul II on the commemorating occasion of the 10th anniversary of his papal visit.