Travelling with the spirit

Johann Wolfgang Goethe once said that Europe was born of medieval pilgrimages to places like Santiago de Compostela, Rome or Palestine. His younger compatriot, German politician Konrad Adenauer added that pilgrimage places are the capitals of the world, where decisions about destinies of nations are made. Today we witness renewed desire of tourists to visit not only common holiday destinations like seasides or mountain resorts, but to give some added value to their travelling. Some call this phenomenon "church tourism" and its importance as a significant segment of the tourism industry is understood not only by the representatives of state and regions but also by the Church.Spiritual dimension of tourism. Church tourism was one of the main themes of the 21st international fair of regional tourism (REGIONTOUR) that took place in Brno, Czech republic, in January this year. Its aim was to bring complex information about offer of Czech and Moravian regions in the area of religious sightseeing. Official opening of the event was marked by the address of the archbishop of Prague, Mons. Dominik Duka, who spoke about importance of this industrial branch and about necessity to uplift the level and quality of church tourism in the country, as it brings "an exquisite spiritual and transcendent dimension to travelling". Archbishop of Prague along with Mons. Jan Graubner, archbishop of Olomouc, took part at the session of the Council of Association of regions of Czech republic and discussed possible forms of mutual cooperation, participation of regions on financing of sacral monuments’renewal from regional budgets or european funds. Open approach of the Church has been appreciated also by the Ministry of Regional Development.The will to improve. "There is something common inside all the people – respect for sacredness", says Mons. Dominik Duka, adding that Prague doesn’t have any problem to manage number of tourists: "The challenge lies in what to offer and how to offer it. For example, if we talk about the Cathedral of St. Vitus, we need to keep its purpose of use as a place of worship, mausoleum of our monarchs, as well as cultural and artistic monument where our crown jewels are preserved". The archbishop speaks about the need to create better standards for all people who want to participate in liturgies, to guarantee that "everyone seeking sacral art and architecture finds an open door and willingness" and to make sure this type of services reaches higher level of quality. Direct income of tourism in Czech republic equals the income of agriculture. Indirect one is double, consituting 10% of all gains. Very interesting in this regard is a fact that 70% of tourist destinations in Prague are the objects belonging to the Church – currently or in the past. Therefore it plays a relevant role in the life of society, in relation to infrastructure, restaurants and other facilities. "We definitely want to enter this space of opportunities and create suitable conditions for all visitors", concludes the head of the Bishops’conference of Czech republic.Treasures to discover. 6,685 catholic, 660 evangelical, 100 orthodox sacral buildings and 200 synagogues – this is the richness of potential of the Church tourism expressed in numbers. Now something about opportunities turned into reality. December 2011 was the month of reopening of a permanent exhibition of "St. Vitus treasure" in the Chapel of the Holy Cross of the Cathedral of St. Vitus, Prague. It had been prepared by the Metropolitan chapter in cooperation with the Office of the president of Czech republic. Collection introduces 139 articles of an immense historical, sacral and artistic value, some of them over 1000 years old. Visitors can see holy relics, chalices, monstrances and other liturgical items, history of which dates back to St. Wenceslas (907-935), the patron saint of the Czech state. One of the most valuable exhibits is a reliquary cross that Charles IV, King of Bohemia and Roman Emperor, had made in the 14th century. It was during his reign that the collection significantly expanded and became one of the greatest cathedral treasures in Europe. Its partial restoration and preparation for the exhibit costed more than 1,5 million Czech crowns. Opportunities for religious sightseeing in Czech republic are still very little known in regard to development of European church tourism, in spite of the fact that its territory has belonged to spiritually important regions for centuries. Good example of the revival of pilgrimages to sacral monuments comes from the south of Moravia where traditional Jacobean route leading pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela was renewed last year. Southern Bohemia will soon be equipped with topical religious sightseeing circuits for several-day trips. Klatovy in the south-western part of Czech republic offers new exposition of catacombs from the 17th century, belonging to a complex of the local Jesuit church. The project had been financed from the European fund for regional development. First succesful steps have already been made and appreciated. The Zlin region was awarded a Grand prize of tourism for invention and integrity, during the REGIONTOUR in Brno, for the project Pilgrimage routes of the eastern Moravia.