Convent of St. Agnes of Bohemia, Monastery guide

The compound of the Convent of St. Agnes which has been property of the National Gallery since the 1960s has kept its original architectural disposition of the Poor Clares and Friars Minor double monastery. It was founded in the 1230s by Přemyslid princess, Agnes of Bohemia, who then lived there for almost half a century. The churches in this extraordinary Gothic compound hosted royal coronations and funerals and, according to the legends, witnessed numerous miracles. Published on the occasion of the opening of the new self-guided tour and the convent's first lapidarium, the present guide offers a thorough description of the monastery's history and architecture. It contains chapters on Agnes of Bohemia, the monastery's building history and its fate in modern times, as well as on the phenomenon of the Poor Clares and the double monastery in the Middle Ages. The essays are followed by the monastery guide and a catalogue of the lapidarium exhibition.