Klášter servitů u kostela Zvěstování Panny Marie na Trávníčku

The Servite Monastery at the Church of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary na Trávníčku is one of Prague's lesser-known but historically significant religious complexes, standing in New Town right next to Vyšehrad. Over nearly seven centuries it has shifted roles several times — from a Gothic mendicant monastery, through a secular institution for the mentally ill, to today's Orthodox church.

When was the monastery founded, and by whom?

The complex was founded by Emperor Charles IV, who on 24 March 1360 brought the Servite Order — one of the mendicant orders active in Prague at the time — to the newly established district of New Town. The monastery rose on the site of an older Marian chapel that once stood amid open meadows, which is where the name "na Trávníčku" (roughly, "on the little lawn") comes from and which still identifies the whole complex today.

What does the Church of the Annunciation look like?

The Servites built a Gothic church with a simple, single-nave layout: a square nave, a five-sided presbytery, and a slender tower on the façade. The most distinctive feature of the interior is how the nave is vaulted — the ribs converge on a single slender central column, an unusual spatial solution among Prague's Gothic churches of the period.

How did the monastery fare during the Hussite Wars?

The Hussite Wars hit both the church and the monastery hard. The monks were driven out, and the church building itself was used by the Hussites as a base — cannons positioned around it were fired at the nearby Vyšehrad fortifications. Only after the fighting ended did the Servites return to Trávníček, and in 1480 the damaged church was repaired.

Why did the monastery stop functioning as a religious house?

The end came with the Josephine reforms. In 1783, the Servite monastery at Trávníček was merged with the Servite house at the Church of St Michael in the Old Town, and the church itself was deconsecrated and enlarged, losing nearly all of its historic interior furnishings. The Servite Order was permanently dissolved in Prague in 1786, closing more than four centuries of presence on the site.

What happened to the building after the monastery closed?

From 1856, the former monastery buildings housed the Katharinum Institute, a facility caring for people with mental illness. During this period the church was reconsecrated, and its structure underwent a substantial neo-Gothic rebuilding designed by architect Bernhard Grueber — work that shaped the church's present appearance.

Who uses the church today?

Since 1995, the Church of the Annunciation na Trávníčku has been in the hands of the Orthodox Church, which still holds services there. That keeps the building an active place of worship, even though its original Gothic monastic purpose passed into history long ago.

Where is the monastery located?

The complex sits in Prague's New Town, close to Vyšehrad hill — a location that also explains why it became a strategic flashpoint during the Hussite Wars, when the fighting for the nearby fortress spilled over into its grounds.

Frequently asked questions

Who founded the Servite monastery na Trávníčku? Emperor Charles IV founded it in 1360, bringing the Servite Order to Prague.

Where does the name "na Trávníčku" come from? It comes from the meadows that once surrounded the original Marian chapel on the site where the monastery and church were later built.

What is architecturally unusual about the church? The nave is vaulted on a single slender central column, a rare solution among Prague's Gothic churches.

Is it still an active monastery? No — the Servite Order was dissolved in Prague in 1786. Since 1995 the church has been used by the Orthodox Church.

What was the church's connection to Vyšehrad? During the Hussite Wars, the building was used as a position from which the nearby Vyšehrad fortifications were bombarded.