The Holy Mountain was saved from fire 40 years ago by the selflessness of firefighters

Prague - A selection of information about the devastating fire that damaged the pilgrimage site of Svatá Hora near Příbram on April 27, 1978:

- The fire, which broke out shortly between two and three in the afternoon, destroyed the roof of the monastery, the provost's residence, and the northern sections of the cloisters, including the clock tower. It also damaged the towers above the Mníšek and Plzeň chapels and the ceiling paintings in this part of the cloisters. The quick response of firefighters, who faced a lack of water and difficult access for equipment, prevented greater damage. A total of 330 firefighters from 46 units, including professional, volunteer, and military units, arrived at the scene. The last ones left only on May 2.

- Hundreds of other people were also involved in combating the fire, including members of public safety, healthcare workers, members of the mining rescue service, and students from vocational schools who helped move rare volumes from the monastery library. Soldiers later replaced them. The fire damage was estimated at five million Czech crowns of that time, but property valued at thirty times that amount was saved. The restoration of the damaged parts of the pilgrimage site cost 16 million.

- According to the results of the official investigation, the cause of the fire was a fire set by a group of four children aged nine to sixteen at the upper end of the then-devastated Svatohorská stairs. From this 400-meter-long covered staircase, which leads from the center of Příbram to Svatá Hora, the fire spread further. Many eyewitnesses, however, question this version, stating that suspicious individuals had been roaming around Svatá Hora for a week prior to the fire. Unconfirmed suspicions suggest that the fire could have been the work of the StB (Czechoslovak secret police).

- These reports are still often heard from church circles. "The fire reached the roofs as the six-story scaffolding, covered with hardened cement crust, burned through. It seems that without the assistance of flammable material, the fire would not have occurred. I remember as a child hearing that Svatá Hora was to be intentionally set on fire, closed for many years after the fire, and ultimately intended to become a museum of baroque," said the then Svatá Hora priest Stanislav Přibyl ten years ago, for example. However, there is no clear evidence for such suspicions.

- The restoration of the baroque complex began immediately after the fire; in addition to the roof structures, vaults and their decorations were mainly damaged. Alongside craftsmen, a large number of volunteers participated in the repairs, with the most important work lasting four years and completed in time for the 250th anniversary of the coronation of the Svatá Hora statue of the Virgin Mary. Renovation continued for another two decades; for example, the Svatá Hora stairs were restored only in 1993, and all traces of the fire were managed to be erased another ten years later.

- The devastating fire is now remembered not only through photographs but also through the run up the Svatohorská stairs, which was created in honor of the firefighters who responded at Svatá Hora in April 1978. The first edition took place in September 2007, and since then pairs of professional and volunteer firefighters regularly measure their strength each autumn. Their task is to ascend the more than half-kilometer-long covered staircase with an elevation of 80 meters as quickly as possible while fully equipped.

- The pilgrimage site at Svatá Hora with its baroque monastery complex, cloisters, and chapels is one of the most important Marian pilgrimage sites in the Czech Republic. The basilica features an altar with a folk Gothic statue of the Virgin Mary of Svatá Hora, which, according to legend, was created by Archbishop Arnošt of Pardubice in the mid-14th century. In the 16th century, it was transferred to the chapel at Svatá Hora, and soon processions began to flow to it. In 1632, allegedly a blind person was healed through it. Fifteen years later, the Jesuits took over the site and created the most significant pilgrimage destination in the Czech Republic.

- The current form of this national cultural monument dates back to the 17th century when the Jesuits built one of the largest early baroque structures in the Czech Republic. The Society of Jesus also advocated for the coronation of the Marian statue in 1732, which was one of the most significant privileges granted by the papal commission. In 1861, the management of Svatá Hora was taken over by the Redemptorists, who served there until 1950 when they were expelled by the communist regime. They returned in 1990.