Břevnov Monastery, Benedictine monastery in Břevnov, Prague, Czech Republic.
Břevnov Monastery is a Benedictine abbey in the Břevnov district of Prague, comprising a baroque basilica, inner courtyards, a granary, a farmhouse, and sprawling gardens with an abbot's summer residence by the Brusnice Stream. The basilica displays an oval floor plan with frescoes by Cosmas Damian Asam and stucco work, while the monastic buildings cluster around several courtyards and are enclosed by walls.
Bishop Adalbert founded the monastery in 993 with Duke Boleslav II, bringing twelve monks from the Roman monastery of Saints Alexius and Boniface; Pope John XV confirmed it that May. Hussite troops destroyed it in 1420 and the monks fled to Broumov. Abbot Othmar Zinke began the present baroque complex in 1708 to plans by Christoph Dientzenhofer, completed in 1740.
The monastery is the oldest documented place of beer brewing in the Czech Republic; brewing was interrupted several times, and since 2011 the Břevnov Monastery Brewery has brewed beer under the brand Břevnovský Benedict. The complex also served as the model for the Red Rose Mansion in Naoki Urasawa's manga and anime series Monster (2005).
The gardens open daily from early morning until late evening and offer walking paths along the stream and among old trees. Guided tours of the basilica and monastic rooms take place on weekends and last about an hour.
A stone marker by the Brusnice marks the spot where legend says the duke and the bishop met while hunting and decided to found the abbey. The well beside the marker still bears the name Vojtěška after Bishop Adalbert.
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