Premonstratensian Monastery in Milevsko

Its original Romanesque style from the end of the 12th century has been
mostly preserved until today. In the second half of the 13th century
the fi rst building adjustments in the Gothic style were made. The
monastery became partly a fortress and, thanks to the Latin school on
its premises, it became a signifi cant center of culture and education
in Southern Bohemia. During the Hussite Wars, the monastery was
destroyed by fi re and ransacked. The Thirty Years’ War brought about
a new fl ourishing of the monastery when it became managed by
the Strahov Premonstratensians. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the
monastery was modifi ed into Baroque style. The deanery, Latin school,
convent and monastery church gained a new appearance. The church
was reconsecrated to the Annunciation of Virgin Mary. Under the
reforms made by Joseph II, the monastery in Milevsko was dissolved,
but the monastery assets remained in the hands of the Strahov
Premonstratensians. The Church of the Annunciation of Virgin Mary
became a parish church, and in 1805 it was changed to a deanery
church. The monastery buildings started to be used diff erently during
World War I when they served as a military hospital, and in 1950 they
were acquired by a farm. Other uses included the town archive and
the regional museum, and in 1989 the monastery was returned to
the Strahov Premonstratensians. They established a novitiate and
religious home there. You can visit the historical premises of the
former prelature where you can see museum exhibitions, the paradise
garden with fragments of the cloister passage, and a park. Two guided
tours are prepared for visitors – Life of Premonstratensian Brothers and
Sacral Buildings.