Kapucínský klášter

Kapucínský klášter (the Capuchin Monastery) in Prostějov is a former monastery complex of the Capuchin order whose church still stands today as the Church of Saints Cyril and Methodius. The site sits within the town of Prostějov in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic and ranks among the oldest surviving traces of mendicant monastic life in the town.

How did the Capuchin monastery in Prostějov come to be?

The monastery church, together with a hospice run by the Capuchin order, was built between 1759 and 1766 on what were then the outskirts of Prostějov. Before the full church existed, a chapel with a crypt dedicated to Saint Barbara already stood on the site. That chapel was consecrated on 7 August 1762 by Leopold Podstatzky, vicar general of the Olomouc diocese. The crypt and the dedication suggest the site served both a devotional and a burial purpose for the friars from the very start.

When was the chapel rebuilt into a church?

In 1764 the monastery's guardian, Father Firmianus, petitioned the Bishop of Olomouc for permission to expand the chapel into a proper church. The resulting building followed the modest style typical of Capuchin architecture: instead of a tall bell tower common on parish churches of the period, it received only a small turret with a bell above the sanctuary.

What happened to the monastery after Joseph II's dissolution?

The monastery's history as a working religious house was cut short by the reforms of Emperor Joseph II. In 1784 the Capuchin monastery in Prostějov was dissolved as part of the Josephine suppression of contemplative and mendicant orders across the Habsburg monarchy. Items inside the church — donated by townspeople or purchased with monastic funds over the decades — were sold at auction at that time. The church building itself, unlike many other dissolved monastic properties, was not demolished or converted to secular use.

What does the site look like today?

The former monastery church now serves as a subsidiary church dedicated to Saints Cyril and Methodius, part of the Roman Catholic parish of the Elevation of the Holy Cross in Prostějov. In the early 20th century the building underwent a Neo-Baroque renovation, during which its dedication changed to the two "Apostles to the Slavs," reflecting the growing veneration of Cyril and Methodius in the Czech and Moravian lands at the time. That change gave the building a new liturgical identity while its 18th-century Capuchin-era shell remained largely intact.

What is worth knowing before visiting?

The church is physical evidence of the Capuchin presence in Prostějov in the second half of the 18th century, as well as of the consequences of Joseph II's church reforms, which closed dozens of contemplative monasteries across the Habsburg monarchy within a few years. The building's plain architecture, without a prominent tower, is characteristic of the austere Capuchin building style, which set the order's churches apart from the more ornate structures built by other orders of the same era.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the former Capuchin monastery in Prostějov located? The site is located within the town of Prostějov in the Czech Republic, in the Olomouc Region.

What is the monastery church called today? It is now the subsidiary Church of Saints Cyril and Methodius, part of the parish of the Elevation of the Holy Cross in Prostějov.

Is the Capuchin monastery still active? No. The monastery was dissolved in 1784 as part of the Josephine suppression of religious orders, and its furnishings were sold at auction. Only the church building has survived.

When was the monastery church built? It was built between 1759 and 1766, on the site of an earlier chapel with a crypt dedicated to Saint Barbara, consecrated in 1762.

Why does the church lack a tall tower? Capuchin architecture deliberately avoided tall, ornate towers — the church in Prostějov received only a small bell turret above the sanctuary instead.