overview about the place Less than 20 km southwest of Prague is the place where, according to legend, the first hermit settled in Bohemia in the second half of the 9th century. It was St. Ivan, whose relics in a silver-plated and gilded box are deposited in the middle of the Church of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist in Svatý Jan pod Skalou. The early Baroque building of massive dimensions with elaborate interior decoration was built by the famous architect Carlo Lurago in 1661. Later, in 1711, the church was structurally secured by K. I. Dientzenhofer. The entrance to the cave of St. Ivan leads from the church. The cave is dominated by the portal of the old Renaissance church of the Virgin Mary, carved in the rock of the original travertine cave. A powerful karst healing spring flows from its bedrock. more about the place Source: www.svatyjan.cz The entire village, dominated by the grounds of the former Benedictine monastery, is situated in the heart of the Karlštejn National Nature Reserve. In the past, the appeal of this beautiful place prompted the creation of the first, oldest marked hiking trail in Bohemia.