Velehrad
Velehrad lies in the foothills of the Chřiby hills, about 29 km south of Kroměříž, and is one of the most important pilgrimage sites in Moravia. Its history begins in the early 13th century, when twelve Cistercian monks came to the valley of the Salaška stream and founded a monastery here. It took its name from nearby Veligrad (today's Staré Město) and with it a tradition reaching back to the 9th century, when the missionaries Constantine (Cyril) and Methodius came to Moravia.
The heart of the village is the Basilica of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and Saints Cyril and Methodius. Originally a late Romanesque church from the first third of the 13th century, it was given its Baroque appearance after the ravages of war and above all after a fire in 1681. The underground of the basilica holds the Martyrion exhibition – Witnesses of Faith of the 20th Century. A papal cross in front of the basilica commemorates the visit of Pope John Paul II on 22 April 1990. The village also has the Church of the Epiphany, known as Cyrilka.
Every year on 5 July, the national pilgrimage of Saints Cyril and Methodius takes place here. For a walk, you can download two discovery trails from the village website: a loop around the basilica and a route from Velehrad to Modrá.
