St. George's Convent, Prague

St. George's Convent
Klášter svatého Jiří
General information
Location	Prague Castle
Address	Hradčany, Prague 1, 119 08
Country	Czech Republic
Coordinates	50°05′28″N 14°24′09″E
Completed	973

Overview of St. George's Convent

St. George's Convent (Czech: klášter svatého Jiří) was a community of Benedictine nuns located in Prague Castle in Bohemia (now the Czech Republic) between 973 and 1782.

Founded in 973,^[1] the abbey was next to the seat of ecclesiastical and state power in Bohemia and occasionally the entire Holy Roman Empire, and played an important historical role. During the Middle Ages, the convent was one of the richest in the Crown of Bohemia. Around 1400, about 50 nuns (including those still before their profession) lived in the abbey.^[2]

Although no longer active, the nunnery's building and the attached Basilica dedicated to Saint George still exist. The abbey building housed the Czech National Gallery's collection of 19th-century Bohemian art for a long time.^[3] Currently, it is empty and is waiting for a renovation.

The abbess of this nunnery had the unusual privilege of crowning the Queen consort of Bohemia, inherited in 1782 by the Princess-Abbess of the Theresian Institution of Noble Ladies.^[4]

References

1. "St. George's Basilica". hrad.cz. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
2. Pacovský, Karel (2020). "Elzka legit et relegit: A Benedictine Nun in Early Fifteenth-Century Prague as a Reader and a Librarian". In Zouhar, Jakub (ed.). Monastic libraries in East Central and Eastern Europe between the Middle Ages and the Enlightenment. Brno: Moravská zemská knihovna. p. 149. ISBN 978-80-7422-786-8.
3. "St. George's Convent: Collection of 19th-century Art in Bohemia". hrad.cz. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
4. Pacovský, Karel (2017). "Úloha svatojiřských abatyší při korunovacích českých královen" [The Role of St. George's Abbesses in Coronations of Bohemian Queens]. Folia Historica Bohemica (in Czech). 32 (1–2): 151–178.