Calvary Cross In Motol Stock Photo

This marble cross stands since 1721 on a basalt more precise: diabase rock above Motol valley, just next to busy Plzenska Pilsen Road and Motol Cemetery. The rock is of Paleozoic origin shales at its bottom contain Silurian fossils which were subject of study by Joachim Barrande, a prominent 19th century French paleontologist. With its surroundings including the opposite slope across the road the rock has been declared a protected area due to occurence of thermophile plants, especially several species of rare steppe grasses, e.g. the Blue Moor Grass Sesleria caerulea. This site used to be a pasture until general socioeconomic changes of mid-20th century and its parts have become gradually overgrown with shrubs and trees since then.