Klášter bosých karmelitánek

The Convent of the Discalced Carmelite Nuns stands on Hradčany hill in Prague, right on Hradčanské náměstí next to the Church of St Benedict. Behind its Baroque façade lies a history running from a Barnabite friary through Josephine-era suppression to a communist-era luxury hotel and back to religious use.

Who built the monastery?

The convent buildings date to 1655, when they were raised by the Barnabite order, which had taken over the neighbouring Church of St Benedict — originally the parish church of the town of Hradčany — after the Battle of White Mountain in 1620. The Barnabites ran their house here for well over a century.

How did the Discalced Carmelites end up here?

In 1786, Emperor Joseph II dissolved the Barnabite friary as part of his sweeping reforms of religious orders. In 1792 his successor, Leopold II, handed the vacated buildings to the Discalced Carmelite nuns. The sisters had nowhere else to go: their original Prague convent on Malá Strana, founded in 1655 by the Venerable Mother Marie Elekta of Jesus (1605–1663), had been forced to close in 1782 under the same Josephine decrees that abolished contemplative orders.

What did the nuns bring with them?

When the community relocated to Hradčany, they carried with them the mummified body of Mother Marie Elekta, the first prioress of Prague's Carmelite convent. Her remains stayed in the Hradčany monastery for well over a century afterward.

What happened to the convent after 1950?

In 1950, as part of the communist regime's crackdown on Catholic religious orders, the nuns were forcibly evicted from the building. The complex was then expensively converted into a luxury hotel reserved for Communist Party officials, a role it served for roughly four decades.

When was it returned to the Church?

The buildings were only returned to the Catholic Church in 1992, after the fall of communism, and restored to religious use.

Do the Carmelite nuns still live there?

No. Between 2018 and 2020, the community moved out of Hradčany to a new convent in Drasty, near Prague, taking the mummified remains of Mother Marie Elekta with them.

Where exactly is the convent located?

The building stands in the southwestern part of Hradčanské náměstí in Prague 1, directly adjoining the Church of St Benedict — one of the landmarks of the Hradčany district, close to Prague Castle.

Frequently asked questions

Is this still an active convent? No — since 2018–2020 the community has resided in Drasty outside Prague, and the Hradčany building no longer serves its original monastic function in the same way.

Who originally built the building? The Barnabite order raised it in 1655 and administered it until the friary was dissolved in 1786.

Why did the building become a hotel? In 1950, the communist regime forcibly removed the nuns as part of its campaign against the Catholic Church and converted the complex into a luxury hotel for party officials.

What happened to Marie Elekta's body? The mummified remains of the Prague Carmel's founder travelled with the sisters at every move — from Malá Strana to Hradčany in 1792, and on to Drasty between 2018 and 2020.