Strahov Monastery
Encyclopedia
Strahov Monastery is a Premonstratensian
abbey founded in 1149 by Bishop Jindřich Zdík
, Bishop John of Prague, and Prince Vladislav II. It is located in Strahov
, Prague
, Czech Republic
.
in 1138 the bishop of Olomouc
Jindřich Zdík
took hold of the idea of founding a monastery of regular canons in Prague, having the support of the bishops of Prague and the Czech ruler Soběslav I and after his death, Vladislav II. After his first unsuccessful attempt to found a Czech variant of the canons' order
at the place called Strahov in 1140, an invitation was issued to the Premonstratensians whose first representatives arrived from Steinfeld
in the Rhine valley. Thus a monastery originated which has inscribed itself in the Czech political, cultural and religious history for all time.
The religious began to build their monastery first of wood, as well as a Romanesque
basilica as the center of all spiritual events in Strahov. The building was gradually completed and the construction of the monastery stone buildings continued in order to replace the provisionary wooden living quarters with permanent stone. In 1258 the monastery was heavily damaged by fire and later renewed until the period of the Hussite
movement when it was attacked and plundered by the citizens of Prague in 1420. Books, artcicles of worship and furnishings of both the church and the convent were burned. Although the building did not sustain great damage from the architectural viewpoint, the monasteery took a long time to recover from this disaster.
and the time up to the end of the 16th century meant vegetation rather than life for the monastery. During that time endeavours were made once again to renew the original monastery and life in it, but that did not prove any successful. It was not until the arrival of the abbot Jan Lohelius that a turn came about. This cleric, originally of Teplá
, became the abbot of Strahov in 1586 and all his abilities were devoted to the renewal of Strahov. He tried to raise the spiritual life of the monastery and, as a visitator circarie, also of the Premonstratensian order as a whole in Bohemia
, he also devoted attention to the material aspect of things. He reconstructed the church, renewed the abbey buildings, established workshops, built a new dormitory and refectory and had the monastery gardens newly laid out. He regained many of the monastery estates and thus built up material base of the monastery, so necessary for its maintenance and further development. Proof of his enormous endeavours and untiring activity also lies in the fact that already in 1594 a twelve-member community of religious could live in the monastery.
in the New Town, which was intended for the theological studies of members of the order. All this was achieved during the Thirty Years' War, when Kašpar Questenberg himself was forced by the violence to flee from Prague. The financial account of the costs incurred by his building activities amounted to about 100,000 tolars, which at that time was a very repectable sum for any building work. In this respect Kašpar Questenberg could calmly compete with such builders as Ferdinand III of Albrecht of Wallenstein.
One of the biggest events in the history of the Premonstratensian order, namely the transfer of the remains of St. Norbert
, the founder of the order, from Magdeburg
took place under Questenberg's abbacy
. This came about in 1627, and since then the remains of the saintly founder have laid at rest in the abbey church. During Questenberg's time the Church of St. Roch
was also completed. Originally it was a votive church whose construction was started by the Emperor Rudolph II
in 1602 as an expression of thanks for the end of the plague in 1599. After numerous changes of fortune the church was completed, including its interior, by 1630.
When Kašpar Questenberg died in 1640 his successor was Kryšpin Fuk, who continued in his work. Moreover, he gained renown for himself through his participation in the making of the river Vlatava navigable in the sector called St. John's Currents (Stavojánské proudy). During his period the abbey was plundered by Swedish
troops towards the end of the Thirty Years' War. The church and the library were looted. After the departure of the Swedes, Kryšpin Fuk had the damaged abbey repaired again, his work being continued by the Abbots Ameluxen, Sutor and Franck. The last-mentioned had the prelature reconstructed and a new St. Elizabeth's Hospital built, because the original one built by Kašpar Questenberg was demolished during the construction of Baroque
fortifications in Prague.
and Bavaria
n troops in 1742, when it was bombarded. After this destruction of the monastery the abbot organized building works again in the course of which the church was rebuilt along with the monastery area.
style. Today it is called the Philosophical Hall. This work brought the extensive building activity at Strahov Monastery to an end and the following generations of abbots devoted their attention merely to minor architectural repairs, all under the influence of contemporary fashion, and to maintenance of the area as a whole.
The monastery survived in this way until 1950, when it was taken over by the communist regime, the religious being interned and placed incivil employment, very few of them being able to work in the clerical administration as priests of the diocese. The monastery was subjected to thorough archeological research and transformed into the Museum of National Literature. In the course of the said archeological research the long since forgotten Romanesque form of the monastery was revealed and reconstructed in a sensitive way.
Premonstratensian
The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré, also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines, or in Britain and Ireland as the White Canons , are a Catholic religious order of canons regular founded at Prémontré near Laon in 1120 by Saint Norbert, who later became Archbishop of Magdeburg...
abbey founded in 1149 by Bishop Jindřich Zdík
Henry Zdík
Henry Zdík was bishop of Olomouc from 1126 to 1150.In 1141 Zdik with papal authorization undertook a mission against the Prussians....
, Bishop John of Prague, and Prince Vladislav II. It is located in Strahov
Strahov (district of Prague)
Strahov is a district of Prague in the Czech Republic. It lies on the west bank of the Vltava, west of Petřín hill, Malá Strana and Hradčany. It is bordered by the districts of Břevnov, Smíchov, Košíře, Střešovice and Malá Strana.-Description:...
, Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
.
The founding of a monastery
After his pilgrimage to the Holy LandHoly Land
The Holy Land is a term which in Judaism refers to the Kingdom of Israel as defined in the Tanakh. For Jews, the Land's identifiction of being Holy is defined in Judaism by its differentiation from other lands by virtue of the practice of Judaism often possible only in the Land of Israel...
in 1138 the bishop of Olomouc
Olomouc
Olomouc is a city in Moravia, in the east of the Czech Republic. The city is located on the Morava river and is the ecclesiastical metropolis and historical capital city of Moravia. Nowadays, it is an administrative centre of the Olomouc Region and sixth largest city in the Czech Republic...
Jindřich Zdík
Henry Zdík
Henry Zdík was bishop of Olomouc from 1126 to 1150.In 1141 Zdik with papal authorization undertook a mission against the Prussians....
took hold of the idea of founding a monastery of regular canons in Prague, having the support of the bishops of Prague and the Czech ruler Soběslav I and after his death, Vladislav II. After his first unsuccessful attempt to found a Czech variant of the canons' order
Canons Regular of the Order of the Holy Cross
The Canons Regular of the Order of the Holy Cross, commonly called Crosiers, are a Roman Catholic religious order.-History:According to their own tradition, the Crosiers were founded by five men attached to the household of the prince-bishop of Liege, Radulf von Zähringen, who accompanied the...
at the place called Strahov in 1140, an invitation was issued to the Premonstratensians whose first representatives arrived from Steinfeld
Steinfeld, Rhineland-Palatinate
Steinfeld is a municipality in Südliche Weinstraße district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany....
in the Rhine valley. Thus a monastery originated which has inscribed itself in the Czech political, cultural and religious history for all time.
The religious began to build their monastery first of wood, as well as a Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
basilica as the center of all spiritual events in Strahov. The building was gradually completed and the construction of the monastery stone buildings continued in order to replace the provisionary wooden living quarters with permanent stone. In 1258 the monastery was heavily damaged by fire and later renewed until the period of the Hussite
Hussite
The Hussites were a Christian movement following the teachings of Czech reformer Jan Hus , who became one of the forerunners of the Protestant Reformation...
movement when it was attacked and plundered by the citizens of Prague in 1420. Books, artcicles of worship and furnishings of both the church and the convent were burned. Although the building did not sustain great damage from the architectural viewpoint, the monasteery took a long time to recover from this disaster.
During the Hussite Wars
The period of the Hussite wars, the years of the reign of George of PoděbradyGeorge of Podebrady
George of Kunštát and Poděbrady , also known as Poděbrad or Podiebrad , was King of Bohemia...
and the time up to the end of the 16th century meant vegetation rather than life for the monastery. During that time endeavours were made once again to renew the original monastery and life in it, but that did not prove any successful. It was not until the arrival of the abbot Jan Lohelius that a turn came about. This cleric, originally of Teplá
Teplá
Teplá is a town in the western Czech Republic....
, became the abbot of Strahov in 1586 and all his abilities were devoted to the renewal of Strahov. He tried to raise the spiritual life of the monastery and, as a visitator circarie, also of the Premonstratensian order as a whole in Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
, he also devoted attention to the material aspect of things. He reconstructed the church, renewed the abbey buildings, established workshops, built a new dormitory and refectory and had the monastery gardens newly laid out. He regained many of the monastery estates and thus built up material base of the monastery, so necessary for its maintenance and further development. Proof of his enormous endeavours and untiring activity also lies in the fact that already in 1594 a twelve-member community of religious could live in the monastery.
During the Thirty Years' War
In 1612 Jan Lohelius became the archbishop of Prague, his work at Strahov then being continued by the new abbot, Kašpar Questenberg. He continued in the expensive work started by Lohelius, completed the lower cloisters and prelature and even erected a new building in the form of St. Elizabeth's Hospital as well as out-buildings and a brewery. Furthermore, he founded the Norbertine seminarySeminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
in the New Town, which was intended for the theological studies of members of the order. All this was achieved during the Thirty Years' War, when Kašpar Questenberg himself was forced by the violence to flee from Prague. The financial account of the costs incurred by his building activities amounted to about 100,000 tolars, which at that time was a very repectable sum for any building work. In this respect Kašpar Questenberg could calmly compete with such builders as Ferdinand III of Albrecht of Wallenstein.
One of the biggest events in the history of the Premonstratensian order, namely the transfer of the remains of St. Norbert
Norbert of Xanten
Saint Norbert of Xanten was a Christian saint and founder of the Norbertine or Premonstratensian order of canons regular.- Life and work :...
, the founder of the order, from Magdeburg
Magdeburg
Magdeburg , is the largest city and the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Magdeburg is situated on the Elbe River and was one of the most important medieval cities of Europe....
took place under Questenberg's abbacy
Abbacy
Abbacy may refer to:* The office of an abbot* Territorial abbacy * Prince-abbacy...
. This came about in 1627, and since then the remains of the saintly founder have laid at rest in the abbey church. During Questenberg's time the Church of St. Roch
St. Roch
St. Roch is a Royal Canadian Mounted Police schooner, the first ship to completely circumnavigate North America, and the second sailing vessel to complete a voyage through the Northwest Passage...
was also completed. Originally it was a votive church whose construction was started by the Emperor Rudolph II
Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor
Rudolf II was Holy Roman Emperor , King of Hungary and Croatia , King of Bohemia and Archduke of Austria...
in 1602 as an expression of thanks for the end of the plague in 1599. After numerous changes of fortune the church was completed, including its interior, by 1630.
When Kašpar Questenberg died in 1640 his successor was Kryšpin Fuk, who continued in his work. Moreover, he gained renown for himself through his participation in the making of the river Vlatava navigable in the sector called St. John's Currents (Stavojánské proudy). During his period the abbey was plundered by Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
troops towards the end of the Thirty Years' War. The church and the library were looted. After the departure of the Swedes, Kryšpin Fuk had the damaged abbey repaired again, his work being continued by the Abbots Ameluxen, Sutor and Franck. The last-mentioned had the prelature reconstructed and a new St. Elizabeth's Hospital built, because the original one built by Kašpar Questenberg was demolished during the construction of Baroque
Baroque architecture
Baroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
fortifications in Prague.
The Theological Hall
In 1670 Jeroným Hirnheim, a philosopher and theologist became the abbot of Strahov. His greatest work, which has survived to the present days, was the building of the new library, the present Theological Hall completed in 1679. During the 17th and the early 18th century other abbots continued in the reconstruction of the monastery. They also cared for the church, which was repaired and decorated several times during the given period. The monastery experienced other great building activity namely after the assault of FrenchFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
n troops in 1742, when it was bombarded. After this destruction of the monastery the abbot organized building works again in the course of which the church was rebuilt along with the monastery area.
The Philosophical Hall
In 1779 Václav Mayer occupied the abbot's throne and was the last to carry out great building activities. His most outstanding work was the building of the new library, now in ClassicalClassical architecture
Classical architecture is a mode of architecture employing vocabulary derived in part from the Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, enriched by classicizing architectural practice in Europe since the Renaissance...
style. Today it is called the Philosophical Hall. This work brought the extensive building activity at Strahov Monastery to an end and the following generations of abbots devoted their attention merely to minor architectural repairs, all under the influence of contemporary fashion, and to maintenance of the area as a whole.
The monastery survived in this way until 1950, when it was taken over by the communist regime, the religious being interned and placed incivil employment, very few of them being able to work in the clerical administration as priests of the diocese. The monastery was subjected to thorough archeological research and transformed into the Museum of National Literature. In the course of the said archeological research the long since forgotten Romanesque form of the monastery was revealed and reconstructed in a sensitive way.