St. Patrick's Grave, Downpatrick, United Kingdom

Outside Down Cathedral on the highest part of Cathedral Hill lies the grave of Saint Patrick, the apostle of Ireland. By the early medieval period Patrick’s grave had become an important site for the developing church and an important monastery had grown around it. At this time the tradition of the hill being the burial place of saints Brigid and Columcille had been added to the legend of Patrick, giving rise to the well-known couplet: In Down, three saints one grave do fill,Patrick, Brigid and Columcille.

A massive granite stone marker was placed on Cathedral Hill in the early 1900’s to protect the grave from the many pilgrims who visited, some of whom were known to take scoops of earth from the grave abroad with them when they emigrated.

References:

saintpatrickcentre.com

Cemeteries, mausoleums and burial places in United Kingdom

User Reviews

Matt “Matt Woods” Woods (7 months ago)
A beautiful building with fine architecture on the inside. Amazing views towards the Mournes and the surrounding countryside.

Raymond Fox (14 months ago)
Building in great order..very old. Organ sound wonderful..great welcome

Geoff Sterrett (2 years ago)
Beautiful church with interesting gift shop and help desk. Located just outside historic town of Downpatrick and associated with St Patrick. Helpful and friendly staff

Amanda Paul (2 years ago)
Fantastic friendly staff. The peace and power of God shines through this place and it's people. I was there recently and am a wheelchair user. I was treated like a queen, nothing was too much for the staff there. I would pray that I could have just a smidge of their compassion and care. May God bless you guys and all that you do there

Charles Aulbach (2 years ago)
Cathedral is Intetesting but sterile. Beautiful wooden furnishings. Helpful and friendly staff. See the grave of saint Brigid, Patrick and Columns. It is a pilgrimage, not entertainment.

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At the end of the 13th century the Liechtensteins, originally from Styria, became holders of all of Lednice and of nearby Mikulov. They gradually acquired land on both sides of the Moravian-Austrian border. Members of the family most often found fame in military service, during the Renaissance they expanded their estates through economic activity. From the middle of the 15th century members of the family occupied the highest offices in the land. However, the family’s position in Moravia really changed under the brothers Karel, Maximilian, and Gundakar of Liechtenstein. Through marriage Karel and Maximilian acquired the great wealth of the old Moravian dynasty of the Černohorskýs of Boskovice. At that time the brothers, like their father and grandfather, were Lutheran, but they soon converted to Catholicism, thus preparing the ground for their rise in politics. Particularly Karel, who served at the court of Emperor Rudolf II, became hetman of Moravia in 1608, and was later raised to princely status by King Matyas II and awarded the Duchy of Opava.

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In the mid-18th century the chateau was again renovated, and in 1815 its front tracts that had been part of the Baroque chateau were removed.

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