Svatý kopeček, Hill in Mikulov, Czech Republic
Heiliger Berg, also known in Czech as Svatý kopeček, is a limestone hill on the edge of Mikulov in the Czech Republic. At its top stand a domed church built in the shape of a Greek cross, a bell tower, and a Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre, all linked by a narrow ridge path.
The hill became a place of worship in 1622, when a chapel dedicated to St. Sebastian was built in response to a plague that had struck Mikulov. That chapel was later enlarged into a domed church, while the Stations of the Cross path, begun in 1626, was only completed in 1776.
The name Heiliger Berg is German for Holy Hill, which describes the place exactly as it has been known for centuries. On feast days, groups of pilgrims and locals walk the Stations of the Cross together, stopping at each small chapel along the way up.
The hill is easy to reach on foot from the center of Mikulov and stays open all year. The path to the top gets steep in places and can be slippery after rain, so solid shoes are worth bringing.
An old quarry on the southern slope has become a nesting ground for jackdaws, which make their home in the cracks of the remaining stone walls. The same dry southern slopes hold steppe plants that are normally found much further east in Europe.
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