The Convent of Saint Agnes, also called the Na Františku convent, is a Gothic monastic complex in Prague 1, founded in the early 1230s by Saint Agnes of Bohemia. The National Gallery Prague lists the building among its sites.
The Convent of Saint Agnes, also called the Na Františku convent, is a monastic complex in Prague 1 at U Milosrdných 17. It is among the oldest Gothic buildings in Prague and bears the name of its founder, the Přemyslid princess Saint Agnes of Bohemia.[1] According to the website of the National Gallery Prague, the building is one of the sites run by the gallery.[1]
Foundation and the first centuries
Agnes of Bohemia, born probably in 1211 and died in 1282, founded with the support of the royal family a convent of Poor Clares and Friars Minor at the beginning of the 1230s. Soon afterwards she entered it herself and became its abbess.[1] According to the English version of the website she was the daughter of Přemysl Otakar I and Constance of Hungary.[2] She was canonised in 1989.[1]
The Na Františku convent was the first joint double convent of Poor Clares and Friars Minor north of the Alps. At the same time it was built as a burial place of the Přemyslid dynasty. A royal coronation took place in it, as did burials of rulers, and Saint Agnes also rested there.[1] The importance of the convent did not decline after her death, and it was also revered by the Luxembourgs, the successors of the Přemyslids.[1]
Changes from the Hussite Wars to the dissolution
The nuns lived in the convent until the beginning of the Hussite Wars. When the wars ended they returned and tried to restore the convent. In the Rudolfine period the convent was taken over by the Dominicans, which definitively ended the Friars Minor convent. The land was sold off, and a new town quarter gradually grew on it. The Dominicans left and the Poor Clares returned, but this did not stop the convent's decline.[1] In 1782 Joseph II dissolved the convent, and it was subsequently sold at auction.[1]
Rescue and opening to the public
The dilapidated convent, rented out for various purposes, was repeatedly threatened with demolition. Its destruction was last proposed at the end of the 19th century by the redevelopment plan for Prague, but the convent was spared thanks to its importance.[1] From the beginning of the 20th century it was gradually documented, studied and repaired. The core of the unique layout of the former double convent has survived.[1] It was declared a national cultural monument in the 1970s and, after a long reconstruction, opened to the public in the 1980s.[1]
Tour and gardens
On the ground floor of the complex there is a tour about the history of the double convent and its founder. It includes a lapidarium housed in the former Poor Clares' convent, namely in the black kitchen and the refectory, and in the Friars Minor part, where it occupies the cloister walk. On display is a significant collection of architectural fragments from the time the convent was built, along with foundation plates of altars and tombstones.[1] Both convent gardens are accessible all year round and free of charge. A tour route leads through them, combining the monastic architecture with sculptures by leading Czech artists.[1] Almost twenty works by contemporary Czech authors are installed in the gardens. An exception is the work Golgotha by František Bílek from 1892, one of the sculptor's first realisations.[1]
Practical information
According to the National Gallery Prague website, the entrances are from the streets Na Františku and Anežská. The nearby stops are Staroměstská (metro line A), Náměstí Republiky (metro line B), Dlouhá třída (trams 6, 8, 15, 26 and bus 207) and Právnická fakulta (tram 17).[1] The English version of the website gives the opening hours as Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 18:00.[2] The gardens are, according to the website, open every day including Monday: from March to May 10:00–18:00, from June to August 10:00–20:00, from September to October 10:00–18:00 and from November to February 10:00–16:00. They are closed in bad weather.[1] The details are given as the operator publishes them on its website.