Convent of Dominican Sisters in Olomouc

Church of St. Catherine in Olomouc

Gothic portal of the Church of St. Catherine in Olomouc

The Convent of Dominican Sisters in Olomouc was founded in 1287 and functioned as a convent for the Dominican Sisters until 1782, when it passed over to the Order of Ursulines. The Ursuline Order remained in the convent until 1951, when the convent was converted to secular use, and it has been since used by the Regional Museum in Olomouc.

The inconspicuous convent complex is enclosed by blocks of houses in the southern part of the historic city centre and the convent is one of the most important historic landmarks in Olomouc. The buildings of the convent are representative of various architectural styles and in the centre of the convent is one of the oldest and most extraordinary gothic buildings in Olomouc – the convent Church of St. Catherine^{[disambiguation needed ]}. In other parts of the convent buildings were preserved structures from the Middle Ages and Renaissance which were built over due to convent reconstruction in the Baroque style. The convent was markedly structurally modified for the last time in the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century.

The history of the two orders of nuns who inhabited the convent was influenced by many important personalities from both sacred and secular circles. The beginnings of the convent are connected with the patronage of Wenceslas II, members of the royal family and noble families, and the Pope and Bishop of Olomouc.

The architectural, artistic, and historical aspects of the convent buildings have been assessed by a number of researchers, but a scientific assessment of the convent complex has not yet been performed. There are not many research findings about its architectural history, but on the basis of the combination of pictorial and written sources, and materials from the preserved structure, it is possible to reconstruct the architectural development of the convent.

The Convent of Dominican Sisters in Olomouc was established in the Polish province and belongs to the oldest convents of Dominican Sisters in Bohemia and Moravia. It was constructed for the Dominican Sisters in the second half of the 13th century. First reports of its existence are from the year 1287, when Vojslava of Deblín gave the patronage rights of the church in Vážany to the convent. The convent was constructed in an undeveloped area at foot of the Michalský Hill at the southern tip of the city, between the city wall and blocks of houses near the marketplace on the present-day Lower Square.

It is supposed that the buildings of the convent increased gradually according to the needs of the convent and its finances. During the first decades of existence of the convent, the Dominican Sisters enjoyed a good economic situation. The high point of the convent's history was in the 14th century. Although the majority of the convents of Dominican Sisters disappeared after the Hussite Wars, the Dominican Sisters in Olomouc survived without further calamities until the disbandment of the convent in 1782 by the reforms of Joseph II. It was claimed at the time that the convent, among others, was disbanded because the nuns failed to care for the sick and promote education.^[1] During this period, the Baroque buildings of the convent were constructed.

In the course of time the convent was damaged by several great fires, damage caused by events of the Thirty Years War and the fire in 1709. The convent was again reconstructed in the middle of the 18th century. After the convent was disbanded, the buildings were made available for the use the Order of Ursulines. The Ursuline Order structurally reconstructed the convent and added some buildings, particularly for a school and new accommodations. The structural transformations of the convent complex were finished before the middle of the 19th century by the church interior alterations. In 1905 a new school building was constructed in the south part of the old convent complex. The occupancy of the Order of Ursulines ended in 1951 and the convent complex is currently used for secular purposes.

At present, the convent buildings form a complex of structures around four courts with a garden at the western wall. It is not a unified scheme of buildings and courts. As the convent's composition was developed by the build-up and spread of the buildings, it developed asymmetrically. The most well-preserved building is the convent church, in which the Gothic Architecture was preserved with many original details, especially the portals and vaults of the long presbytery. It has preserved the original segmentation of the interior by the window cornice, truncated support column with capitals, and windows with tracery. On the convent buildings remain well-preserved fragments of their artistic and handicraft decoration. Surveys have discovered previously unknown architectural details of the oldest structure.

From the older interior decorating of the convent, only fragments of the church interior, several Baroque sculptures and pictures of saints, Neo-Gothic furniture, and altar architecture have been preserved.

The convent complex is currently mostly unused while it awaits reconstruction and preservation.

Footnotes

1. ^ Regional Museum website

See also

• Tourist summary of the convent

Coordinates: 49°35′26″N 17°15′14″E / 49.59056°N 17.25389°E / 49.59056; 17.25389