Kostel Nanebevzetí Panny Marie a svaté Máří Magdaleny Church

The Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and Saint Mary Magdalena in the Hlum of Saint Mary owes its existence to the medieval tradition of pilgrimage, which it uprooted in the 13th century. The beginnings are associated with the legend of the found statue of Madonna in the bushes by the road. According to tradition, the painting returned to its original place after being found and taken home, which led to the construction of a wooden roof and later a wooden chapel. There was a settlement around this chapel, but it had long been lacking its own parish. Cruisers with a red star who played a key role in the region were responsible for managing the pilgrimage site.

The first credible mention of the Hlum of St. Mary from paper sources dates back to 13 August 1383, when the building dedicated to the Virgin Mary was mentioned. In the same year the knight Heinrich z Reissengrünu donated sixty mornings of arable land on the hill. Around 1400 the first chapel was established and the first vicar became the cruiser Johann Pichelmann. At the same time a stone church was established on the site of the original wooden building. It is from this period that the gothic statue of the Virgin Mary and Jesus comes in so-called beautiful style, which became the heart of the pilgrimage place.

The fourteenth century has brought trials. In 1429 during the Hussite wars, Hussite Chlum was attacked and the church was severely damaged. After these wars, recovery followed. In the second half of the century, as Grand Master of Cruisers Nicholas Puchner, the church was extended on the south side between 1482- 1492. In 1499 it was established near the chapel of the Three Kings, where also religious religions were held for pilgrims. During the 15th century, Chlum became an important pilgrimage place.

The 16th century brought new challenges. The consequences of reformation and religious conflict have affected this sacred place. Protestant supporters of Chlum ambushed and temporarily placed their own preacher. Although the attempt to transfer Chlum to the Protestant community failed, important objects and valuables from the church were taken to Cheb, where in several years later they burned in one house.

The breakthrough was the битва на White Mountain and the subsequent Westphalia peace from 1648, which allowed consolidation and restoration of Catholic life. The crucial moment occurred in 1687, when the Archbishop of Prague and the Grand Master of the Cruising Order Jan Bedřich z Valdštejna promoted the local rectory to probostness. This decision started a major reconstruction. At the end of 17th and early 18th century, the original church was transformed into a Baroque complex. The old medieval towers were brought down in 1686 and replaced by new ones in 1687-1691. The foundation stone of the new church was laid in May 1690 and a new presbytery was created with it, which was completed in 1694. In 1697, the dome over the cross was finished. The ceremonial consecration took place on 11 May 1702 and the following day the oval chapel was consecrated. It took the longest construction of the cross corridor of ambition in 1704-1722. Part of the complex is a three-wing object of a large probostness that was built for five years.

Today Chlum Svaté Maří is a whole that reflects the long history of Czech pilgrimage. The monument was included in the list of cultural monuments in 1963. In 2016 the protection and extension of the scope of the Baroque garden during the proboště was revised. The Government Decree became a national cultural monument with effect from 1 July 2018. Today, the pilgrimage area remains valued both by historians and archaeologists, and by those who come as pilgrims in a tradition as old as Chlum himself.