Sedlec Abbey is a former Cistercian

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...

in Sedlec, part of Kutná Hora in the Czech Republic. Founded in 1142, it was the first Cistercian foundation in Bohemia. Along with the rest of the Kutná Hora town centre, it was listed as a

UNESCO World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

in 1995, because of its outstanding

Baroque architecture Baroque architecture is a highly decorative and theatrical style which appeared in Italy in the early 17th century and gradually spread across Europe. It was originally introduced by the Catholic Church, particularly by the Jesuits, as a means t ...

. It is well known for housing the

Sedlec Ossuary The Sedlec Ossuary ( cs, Kostnice v Sedlci; german: Sedletz-Beinhaus) is a Roman Catholic chapel, located beneath the Cemetery Church of All Saints (Czech: ), part of the former Sedlec Abbey in Sedlec, a suburb of Kutná Hora in the Czech Repub ...

History

Sedlec Abbey was founded in 1142 from

Waldsassen Abbey Waldsassen Abbey (German: ''Abtei Waldsassen'') is a Cistercian nunnery, formerly a Cistercian monastery, located on the River Wondreb at Waldsassen near Tirschenreuth, Oberpfalz, in Bavaria, Germany, close to the border with the Czech Republic. ...

in Sedlec as the first Cistercian

in Bohemia. The grounds covered by wood and swamp were granted by Miroslav, House of Wartenberg.Die Kirche zu Sedletz
(PDF; 273 kB) in den Mittheilungen der k.k. Central-Commission 1856 It flourished under abbot , due to silver mining in the region. The abbey was burnt in April 1421 by

Hussites The Hussites ( cs, Husité or ''Kališníci''; "Chalice People") were a Czech proto-Protestant Christian movement that followed the teachings of reformer Jan Hus, who became the best known representative of the Bohemian Reformation. The Huss ...

led by

Jan Žižka Jan Žižka z Trocnova a Kalicha ( en, John Zizka of Trocnov and the Chalice; 1360 – 11 October 1424) was a Czech general – a contemporary and follower of Jan Hus and a Radical Hussite who led the Taborites. Žižka was a successful milit ...

, and many monks were killed. The library had been secured shortly before to the

Stift Klosterneuburg Klosterneuburg Abbey or Monastery (german: Stift Klosterneuburg) is a twelfth-century Augustinian monastery of the Roman Catholic Church located in the town of Klosterneuburg in Lower Austria. Overlooking the Danube, just north of the Vienna city ...

Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...

. A few monks returned, but it took until 1620 to revive the monastery. It flourished once more after the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...

, when several buildings were erected or remodeled. The abbey was dissolved in 1783.

Buildings

The abbey was originally built in

Romanesque style Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe characterized by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque style, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 11th century, this later ...

. It was remodel in

Gothic style Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths ** Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken ...

between 1280 and 1320. After the destruction by the Hussites, the buildings were reconstructed at the beginning of the 18th century. The

abbey church A church, church building or church house is a building used for Christian worship services and other Christian religious activities. The earliest identified Christian church is a house church founded between 233 and 256. From the 11th thro ...

was dedicated to the

Assumption of Mary The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it in 1950 in his apostolic constitution '' Munificentissimus Deus'' as follows: We proclaim and define it to be a dogma revealed by ...

and Saint

John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

. It was built as a

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's Forum (Roman), forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building ...

with five

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

s between 1280 and 1330. Destroyed in 1421, it was rebuilt from 1699 to 1707 after designs by and

Jan Santini Aichel Jan Blažej Santini Aichel (3 February 1677 – 7 December 1723) was a Czech architect of Italian descent, whose major works represent the unique Baroque Gothic style - the special combination of the Baroque and Gothic styles. Biogr ...

. Another restoration, trying to preserve the original appearance, was performed from 1854 to 1857. The Chapel of All Saints, next to the cemetery, was run from 1389 by a Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre. The building dates from around 1400, was rebuilt several times and remodeled in

Baroque style The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

in 1710 by Santini Aichel. It holds in its basement the

Gallery

Kloster Sedletz Innenraum.JPG, Nave of the abbey church Deckengewoelbe Kloster Sedletz.JPG, Vault Kloster Sedletz Treppenaufgang.JPG, Stairs Kloster Sedletz Reliquie.JPG, Relic of St. Felix

Literature

* Štěpán Vácha: ''Antiquitatis illustre monimentum. Die Restaurierung der Klosterkirche in Sedletz in den Jahren 1700–1709'', Umění 56 (2008), pp. 384–408 * , Winfried Eberhard, Miloslav Polívka: ''Handbuch der historischen Stätten. Böhmen und Mähren'', Stuttgart 1998, , pp. 564–565 * Jiři Kuthan: ''Die mittelalterliche Baukunst der Zisterzienser in Böhmen und Mähren'', München und Berlin 1982:

Deutscher Kunstverlag The Deutscher Kunstverlag (DKV) is an educational publishing house with offices in Berlin and Munich. The publisher specializes in books about art, cultural history, architecture, and historic preservation. History Deutscher Kunstverlag was fo ...

, , pp. 145–163 * Kateřina Charvátová, Dobroslav Líbal: ''Sedlec.'' In: D. Housková, D. (ed.): ''Řád cisterciáků v českých zemích ve středověku. Sborník vydaný k 850. výročí založení kláštera v Plasech.'' Unicornis, Praha 1994, , pp. 38–43

References

External links

{{Authority control Jan Santini Aichel buildings Cistercian monasteries in the Czech Republic 1140s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1142 establishments in Europe Religious organizations established in the 1140s Christian monasteries established in the 12th century World Heritage Sites in the Czech Republic Buildings and structures in Kutná Hora Tourist attractions in the Central Bohemian Region