The Pilgrimage Site of St. Anne near Pořejov

In 1660, the owner of the Pořejov estate, Veronika Kateřina Alsterová, had a new pilgrimage church founded on this site as an expression of thanksgiving for her healing. In the parish records from 1676, a veneration of the local statue of St. Anne is mentioned.

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The patchwork of history

The parish priest added, however, that neither the writings nor the memoirs of the people made it clear from when the reverence had been shown. Apparently it was already in the previous chapel. There is a small print from 1725 reporting miracles that allegedly happened at the pilgrimage church. The care of the secluded church and the pilgrims was taken by the hermits of the hermitage, which is documented here in the 18th century.

During Emperor Joseph’s reforms, the pilgrimage church was deconsecrated in 1786 and left to natural processes. In 1808–11, it was rebuilt and reconsecrated at the expense of the surrounding villages. After 1945, the church was abandoned again and the town below it disappeared by the 1970s. Today, the church is in a disastrous condition and is one of the most endangered sanctuaries in the territory of the Pilsen diocese. Should it collapse, not only would the last memory of the inhabitants of Pořejov be destroyed, but the ancient pilgrimage site would disappear.