The Sázava Chapel of St. Procopius is once again a dignified pilgrimage site

Sázava (Benešovsko) - The Sázava Town Hall has repaired the chapel of St. Prokop in the Spa. It is the second most visited monument in the city after the local monastery. It is visited by several thousand people each year. The repair of the chapel, which is also an important pilgrimage site, cost 1.6 million korunas. Most of this was covered by a grant from the Leader program, said Mayor Petr Šibrava to ČTK.
    According to the Sázava chronicler and initiator of the pilgrimage site repair Milan Štědra, the chapel stands at the site of a former spa that developed near a spring called Vosovka, under what was once a Slavic fort. According to legends, several people were miraculously healed there in the 17th century. Therefore, Sázava monks built a spa there in the mid-18th century. Interest in it increased further after news spread that it was a spring where, according to legend, Prince Oldřich met the hermit Prokop.
    According to the legend, Oldřich chased a doe in the forests of Sázava, and Prokop saved the animal. He offered Oldřich water from the spring, which the prince found better than wine. "This is one of Prokop's first miracles. Oldřich saw that the hermit was an extraordinary man and together with him founded a monastery in Sázava. However, it was officially consecrated only at the beginning of the 11th century by Oldřich's son Břetislav," added Štědra.
    The chapel was originally wooden and was rebuilt into a stone structure in the 18th century. After the monastery was dissolved, it was sold, and its owners changed. One of them built a tavern, bowling alley, and shooting range there. People from the surrounding area gathered there. In 1900, the inn had to make way for the construction of the Sázava railway. However, the chapel and the spring remained. Nearby is a small cave, but it is not the cave where, according to legend, St. Prokop lived. This was created during one of the garden renovations by converting the cellar of the original spa, Štědra noted.
    The chapel gradually fell into disrepair. Although the city was not its owner, it had it repaired in the 1990s. After it was acquired as a gift from the owners, the city began preparations for its extensive reconstruction. The project was designed by architect Ivo Knížek.
    In addition to the chapel's repair, its surroundings have also changed. Paths and walkways were created, and above the original spa cellar stands a new wooden gazebo. The legend of the meeting between Prokop and Prince Oldřich is commemorated there by two poems. One of them was written by František Xaver Dvořák. "Many people will remember his poem because it was included in readers in the 1950s," Štědra noted. The second text is the work of the poet Jaroslav Vrchlický.