The Baroque pilgrimage Church of the Virgin Mary of Mercy

The original wooden pilgrimage chapel was built in 1653 by Order Proconsul Oswald of Liechtenstein as a visible symbol of the victory of Catholic forces over the Protestants. A “miraculous” painting of the Virgin Mary (a copy of the work by Lucas Cranach) was then placed in the new pilgrimage church. After all, the mythical human fate of this saint was particularly close to the unfortunate destiny of subjugated people. Of particular interest are the exterior mosaics depicting Sts. Peter and Paul (1925) on the front entrance. The church underwent repairs in 1991-92. A linden tree alley that is approximately one kilometre long and which runs from the church to the town and the main road was planted in 1760 when the church was being built. Augustin Oswald Lichtenstein, proconsul of the Teutonic Knights, got lost here during a hunt and was rescued near death by a coalman. To express his gratitude to the man he had a wooden chapel built here in 1654 and acquired for it a copy of the famous painting Madonna and Child by Lucas Cranach the Elder, who lived in the years 1472 - 1553. Accessibility by car The pilgrimage church is located 2 km southwest from Bruntál, on a hill on the right side of the road to Moravský Kočov.