From here, she and St. Joseph headed to Bethlehem where Jesus was born, and later she came back again. Shortly after Virgin Mary's death, the Holy Cabin became a worshipped relic. Unfortunately, it was badly damaged after the invasion of the Saracens into Palestine, but was saved due to a miracle - according to the legend. It says that when the crusading army left Palestine in 1291, angels took the Holy Cabin first to Dalmatia and then into the town in Northern Italy. There, the cabin was hidden inside a laurel grove, after which the town is called Loreto or Laurentum in Latin.
Archaeological research later confirmed that part of the brickwork was truly identical with Mary's cabin, but as far as the transfer is concerned, it was probably the Pope who had it brought from Nazareth in the 13th century.
Based on the Italian model from architect Donato Bramante, Loreto was also built in other Catholic countries - in Czechia it happened after the defeat at Bílá Hora in 1620. The Holy Cabin in Mikulov, built by Cardinal Diettrichstein, became a model for Prague's Loreto, as Countess Kateřina Benigna of Lobkowicz admired it during her visit. She donated several Lobkowicz land plots for construction of Prague’s Loreto, entrusted the administration of the future sanctuary to the Capuchins, and also invited the builder Giovanni Battista Orsi from Vienna. When he died, Andrea Allio continued with the work.
The construction started in 1626, with the sanctuary being canonized by Cardinal Harrach in 1631, and continued for many years after that. The Holy Cabin, under which there is the Lobkowicz family crypt, is located in the middle of the courtyard, surrounded by six chapels. It is decorated with marble reliefs of Giovanni Bartolommeo Cometa, who imitated the originals of Sansovino.
Inside, you will see a 110 cm tall Virgin Mary of Loreto in a silver niche, holding baby Jesus. Carved out of lime wood and dated 1620s, the statue became black over time, which made it even more alike to the Italian original of cedar wood. This partly occurred due to the former custom of lighting rooms with candles. Also, notice an artificially created crack based on the cabin in Italian Loreto, where the stroke of lightning was supposed to awake the villagers - so they could protect the cabin when a thief got in.
