History

Autor: Milena Ludvíková

The Benedictine monastery in Kladruby was established in 1115 by Vladislaus I, Duke of Bohemia, who was later buried in the monastery. The Duke donated a sizeable fortune to the monastery. The monastery served for religious activities as well as for diplomatic negotiations.

The monastery was built in the Romanesque style, later gothic elements were added. The consecration of the monastery took place in 1233 in the presence of King Wenceslas I. At that time the village of Kladruby was established in the vicinity of the monastery. Under the administration of Abbot Reiner (1233-1275?) the monastery considerably expanded its estates, received numerous privileges and the village Kladruby was elevated to a township. Thus the power and the significance of the monastery was to constantly grow during the second half of the 14^th century. At that time, the Kladruby monastery feasted Emperor Charles IV several times.

Under the reign of Charles’ son, Wenceslas IV, the power of the monastery weakened. Wenceslas IV decided to undermine the position of one of his most adamant adversaries, the Prague archbishop John of Jenštejn, by establishing a new bishopric designed to take over the estates owned by the monastery at Kladruby. However, upon the death of the monastery’s abbot Racek in 1393,  opponents of the King’s intentions managed to thwart proceedings by promptly electing a new abbot; with the election being immediately approved by the Archbishop’s vicar, John of Nepomuk. The  fierce conflict that ensued resulted in the Archbishop going into exile. The vicar John of Nepomuc was  tortured and eventually thrown off the  Charles Bridge in Prague into the Vltava River. Today he is known as Saint John of Nepomuk.

In 1421 during the Hussite revolt the Kladruby monastery was taken by Jan Žižka of Trocnov. The Benedictine monks fled to Regensburg with their most valuable possessions, yet were to return and subsequently flee again and so things went until the  monastery possessions had been completely  taken by the local aristocracy. This was to last until the end of conflict  within the baronial league and the Crusaders against King George of Kunštát and Poděbrady in 1467.

The economic situation improved slowly with the discovery of mining in the area; equally  fish farming  began again to flourish. At the same time, the nearby towns of Touškov and Kladruby began again to prosper. The monastery at that time was able to repair and re-consecrate the Church of Virgin Mary in 1504. The 16^th century was not an ideal time for the monastery due to the frequent abdication of abbots, internal disputes and visitations. In 1590 there was a big fire which burned down all the monastic buildings.

The Thirty Years War resulted in the taking and plundering of the monastery. Nevertheless, the monastery managed to take advantage of the Catholic Church’s post-war resurgence to retrieve the worst of the losses. This led to the beginning of the reconstruction of the Church of Virgin Mary. The comprehensive construction of the convent was completed with the erection of the prelature’s old residence  between 1664 and 1670. The largest construction work came at the end of 17^th century and in the first half of the 18^th century under the administration of the abbots Maur Fintzgut, Josef Sieber and Amand Streer, the last great builders of the monastery. In 1712 the reconstruction of the Church of Virgin Mary was begun under the supervision of the distinguished Baroque architect Jan Blažej Santini-Aichl; this was to last until 1726. This new architectural style was called the Czech baroque gothic style, and was represented primarily by Santini. Under the guidance of Santini the three-nave was reconstructed and a monumental dome was built, which now looks like a crown hanging up above the nave of the church. Further the western frontage and northern forefront were rebuilt. The entrance shield was given a monumental sculpture of the Virgin Mary, which referred to the Romanesque and gothic traditions of the monastery. The interior area was brightened by the crown above the crossing of the church and the altar space was filled with an altar designed by Santini. The Church of Virgin Mary was consecrated in 1726 and today is one of the largest ecclesiastical structures in Bohemia. After its completion the construction of a new convent and a new prelature began. These were allegedly designed by the architect Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer. The construction works were completed in 1770. The monastery prospered in all aspects, but the state’s orientation towards an Enlightenment system of government, meant that the state authorities tended to increasingly interfere in monastery jurisdiction.  Joseph II, the Holy Roman Emperor, proceeded to dissolve  the monastery in 1785, two years after the death of Amand Streer, who had no successor. The monastery buildingswere taken over as a military hospital in 1798. Between 1800 and 1818, the monastery served as a hostel for  troops, a hospital, military quarters and a residence for invalids.

Field Marshal Prince Alfred I Windischgrätz bought the monastery and the manor at an auction in 1825. Half of the price was waveredfor his loyalty to the Austrian Monarchy.  However, he paid little attention to the Kladruby monastery, as a result of  his nearby residence at Tachov. In 1864, Alfred II Nicholas Windischgrätz established a brewery inside the original convent leaving the Church of Virgin Mary  to its fate. In 1918 the main line of the Windischgrätz family died out and as a result of the ongoing land reform the family lost their estate at Tachov. The new owner Ludvík Aladár Windischgrätz moved to Kladruby along with his extensive library and the family archives.  There the Windischgrätz family  lived until 1945. Kladruby was then confiscated in compliance with   Presidential Decree and  became  state property.

The monastery was used for agricultural purposes by the Czech Ministry of Agriculture and the National Land Office, the lands were cultivated by Czechoslovak State Farms and Czechoslovak State Forests. From 1946  negotiations with the Benedictine order over the property were conducted,  the Benedictines being given a pertaining allocation decree as already issued, though the Benedictines were never to take over the property. Accordingly, in 1948 the property was placed under the administration of the National Cultural Commission in Prague. In 1960 the State Farms Directorate  was established in the monastery complex. In 1967 the Regional Centre of the National Heritage Conservation in Plzeň (today’s National Heritage Institute) acquired the Kladruby Monastery and the monastery was opened to the public.  At the beginning of the 1970s a comprehensive reconstruction of the monastery complex was conducted with crucial financial contributions being made by the state authorities of the Czech Republic and several organizations of the European Union.