The Rock

The Skalka Baroque complex is a unique place located on the forested ridge above the town of Mníšek pod Brdy.
The Church of St. Mary Magdalene, the monastery, the Stations of the Cross, the hermitage and the genius loci of this place attract people from all over the region.

The area was built at the end of the 17th century by the pious owner of the Monastery estate, Servác Ignác Engel of Engelsflus.

The church is dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene and was inspired by the chapel in the cave of La Sainte Baume in southern France, where the saint is said to have lived for thirty years. Engel recruited the famous architect Kryštof Dientzenhofer for his plans and sent him on a study trip to Provence, where he materialized the inspiration in the form of Czech Baroque. A monastery and hermitage were built at the same time as the church. Here, too, there were gems of Baroque art. The most valuable monument in Skalka was the ceiling painting of St. Mary Magdalene by Petr Brandl. When the area of Skalka was damaged by undermining in the 1950s, the painting was transferred to canvas and placed in the Church of St. Wenceslas in Mníšek. Another interesting work is the Pieta by the sculptor Jan Brokoff, still located in the hermitage.
After 1762, Skalka was administered by the Franciscan Order and became a popular pilgrimage site. It was a spiritual stop on the pilgrimage from Prague to Svatá Hora in Příbram, enjoyed great popularity and became a place of rest and contemplation. Since the end of the 19th century, Skalka has also become a popular tourist destination.

The worst period for the Skalka area was the second half of the 20th century, when iron ore mining damaged the church so much that it had to be tied with iron hoops. The permission to remove the roofing from the monastery in 1959 meant the rapid demise of the building. This made access to Skalka virtually impossible and it gradually fell into disrepair.

After 1989, the Baroque Skalka complex became the property of the town of Mníšek pod Brdy. Since then, the church, monastery, hermitage and 14 chapels of the Stations of the Cross have been gradually reconstructed. The newly reconstructed chapels of the Stations of the Cross have been declared the 2019 Monument of the Year by the Association of Historic Places of Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia .
The Baroque Skalka complex is currently used for wedding ceremonies, exhibitions, concerts and other cultural events. It has thus become a place where history breathes on you again, surrounded by nature.