Historica Olomucensia

The monastery of the Discalced Augustinians in Německý Brod was founded in the 1670s. The initiator of the order’s arrival in the royal city was the imperial court and the chamber. Initial conflicts with the city council and the local dean were quite heated. The city council argued about the lack of financial resources to support the mendicant order after several major fires and economic problems after the Thirty Years’ War. The Augustinians represented competition for the dean. Nevertheless, the monastery managed to establish itself in the city, and its (self)presentation also played a significant role in this. 

From the few preserved, mainly narrative sources, we can demonstrate, using the example of several public monastery festivals, how the monastery presented itself in Německý Brod, how it was involved in events in the smaller royal city, how the relations between the monastery, the city and the deanery developed, and how various social groups were involved in monastery festivities. Attention will be paid to the festivities associated with the introduction of the Discalced Augustinians to the city, the laying of the foundation stone for the monastery church, the consecration of the church, the founding of the Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre, and others. These events were attended by surrounding church institutions, the city council and dean, townspeople and residents of the city and the surrounding area. Other events associated with the monastery concerned the operation of the grammar school and the Devotion to the Most Holy Five Wounds of Christ.

Keywords: Německý Brod; Discalced Augustinians monastery; monastery festivities; grammar school; conflicts; deanery; chronicles