Kostel Panny Marie Vítězné na Bílé Hoře Church

The church is located north of Karlovy Vary Street near the tram loop and southeast of the White Mountain itself on the cadastral territory of Řep. Its beginnings date back to the years immediately following the Battle of White Mountain. Between 1622 and 1624 there was a simple chapel of a rectangular plan, the author of which remains unknown. The building served a sad purpose - it was a place where they stored the remains of soldiers from battle who had no proper burial and their bodies remained in the vicinity long after the fight was over.

The breakthrough in his development came in 1628. According to the order of Emperor Ferdinand II, a monastery of services began to be built at the chapel. The monastery church was to be praised for the victory of the Catholic Church. The ceremonial laying of the foundation stone took place on 25 April 1628 and was attended by Emperor Ferdinand II himself with his spouse Eleonora and son Ferdinand III. A memorial medal depicting the planned form of the monastery was symbolically inserted into the foundations. But the monastery remained unfinished and its buildings travelled for a different use. The chapel met with some historical events - in the Swedish invasion of 1634 it was damaged and then transformed into a skeleton.

New life was built in 1704, when Bavarian bricklayer Michael Hagen significantly rebuilt it. She was dedicated to St. Wenceslas and the papal card allowed her to serve mass. The date of the ordination, December 8, 1704, is carved in the front door. Thus began a long period of expansion of the premises. Probably between 1705 and 1706 it was created by an eight-sided presbytery with a low dome and lantern. A new sanctuary dedicated to Our Lady of Victory was created, which was consecrated by Bishop Vít Seipl of Prague on 8 August 1706.

Since then, the site has been systematically expanding. In the following years, sacristy, bark, and above all a series of small chapels dedicated to various saints - St. Rozál (later St. Felicia), Saint Vojtěch, Saint Hilar, Saint John the Nepomuk, Holy Trinity and Saint Wenceslas. Their construction took place gradually between 1708 and 1714. In 1714 the original dome was also torn down and replaced by a new, higher dome, which they completed in 1715. Since 1720 it began to build around the entire complex columns with arcades, which was completed in 1729.

The monastery which was destroyed by Emperor Josef II later took over religious matrices. In 1786 he made an inventory of property and pilgrimage grounds sold to Josef Ulrich, the lover of Motol. The situation plan of 1793 already shows that there was another building - the chapel of God's tomb on the north side of the ambition, which apparently arose between 1750 and 1785. It is believed to have been inspired by the construction of cruisers in the New Town of Prague.

The churches and chapel, which today pass through thousands of pilgrims per year, are a rare testament to architectural development since the beginning of the 17th century and an unforgettable reminder of one of the most important events of Czech history.