Lomec Pilgrimage Complex
A beautiful and rare South Bohemian Marian pilgrimage site, hidden deep in the forest.
To the north of Netolice lies Lomec, one of the most significant Baroque pilgrimage complexes in South Bohemia.
The Church of the Name of the Virgin Mary was built between 1692 and 1702 by Count Buquoy for a miraculous statue of the Virgin Mary with the Infant Jesus. The central altar is a unique feature – richly carved and modeled after Bernini’s papal altar in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The architect remains unknown, though experts believe it may have been Count Emanuel Buquoy himself.
Also in Lomec is the original Buquoy hunting lodge, built in 1709–1710, which later served as a parish and school. Today, it houses the Congregation of the Grey Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis. Pilgrimages and masses are held here regularly on the first Saturday of each month. A new meditation garden has also been established.
Archaeological excavations in 1925 uncovered several Slavic burial mounds beneath the hilltop, dating from the 6th to 9th centuries. This cemetery is one of the best-preserved of its kind in Bohemia and the largest in South Bohemia. Near the monastery stands a bell tower with three bells – the oldest, from 1661, came from Svatá Hora; two others were added later from Germany.
The church complex is one of the stops on the educational cycling trail “Historic Landscape of Netolice”.
