Country: Latvia
Distance: 205 km
Travel time: 8 days
On postcard: Aglona Basilica
Aglona Basilica was built in the late baroque style and it is decorated with two 60 metre high towers. Every year on the 15th of August, pilgrims congregate in Aglona to mark the day of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary into Heaven. This is one of the best known sacred sites in the world; groins vaults, arches and columns richly decorated in rococo style can be found inside.
At the end of the 17th century, the Dominican Order established a monastery in Aglona and built the first wooden church. After the church burnt down in 1699, a stone monastery building and the present church were built in its place in 1768 -1780. The interior of the shrine was created in the 18th-19th century, but the pulpit, the organ, and the confessional were built at the end of the 18th century.
The church houses an extensive collection of paintings, sculptures, and artistic treasures, including the famous icon “Our Miraculous Lady of Aglona”, which is uncovered only during religious festivals. The painting is considered to have healing powers. In 1993, Pope John Paul II visited Aglona sanctuary. Extensive renovation works in the church and improvements of the surrounding amenities were carried out prior to this visit.
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