"The more hands that get involved, the more successful our work will be. That's why we decided how we want to proceed with the renovation so that the Vyšehrod Monastery will once again be the pearl of South Bohemia, as it was until 1950," said Justin Berka, the prior of the Cistercian order.
The Vyšší Brod Monastery is the only functioning male Cistercian monastery in the Czech Republic and a national cultural monument. The abbey was founded in 1259 by Vok of Rožmberk. After the formation of Czechoslovakia, the monastery lost most of its estates after the land reform. During the Nazi era, the Gestapo occupied the buildings. Members of the order were evicted or interned and the Nazis confiscated their property. Between 1945 and 1948, there were two attempts at confiscation by the Czechoslovak state, but neither was successful. After 1948, two more confiscation administrative acts were issued according to the Beneš decrees. The communists abolished the monastery in 1950, it has been restored since 1990, and since then the Cistercians have been working on its restoration.
"The Vyšší Brod monastery complex has incredible potential. It offers our students the opportunity to work on topics for bachelor's, diploma or dissertation theses. In addition, we want the outputs to be used in practice and have application for the restoration of the monastery. I believe that this is not a cooperation for just a few years, but will be long-term," said Konvalinka, the Dean of the Faculty of civil engineering at the Czech Technical University.
The monastery, which is visited by 30,000 people a year, contains, among other things, the Záviš Cross. It is one of the rarest sacral monuments in Europe and, after the crown jewels and the reliquary of St. Maurus, the third most valuable goldsmith monument in the Czech Republic.