Emmaus Monastery, Gothic monastery in New Town, Czech Republic
Emmaus Monastery is a Gothic monastery in New Town that stands on a hill above the Vltava River. The walled complex includes a church, a cloister with faded medieval wall paintings, and modern concrete spires added after wartime damage.
Charles IV founded the monastery in 1347 as part of a religious network spread across Prague. A bombing raid in 1945 destroyed the medieval roof, which was later replaced with a contemporary design.
The name Emmaus comes from the Bible and recalls the village where Christ appeared after the resurrection. Today the site serves as home to Benedictine monks who tend the cloister garden and show visitors the meaning of liturgical spaces.
The monastery opens year-round for visitors who wish to see the cloister and the monastery church. The entrance lies on a quiet street in New Town, easily reached on foot from the Vltava riverbank.
The cloister walls display a unique series of biblical scenes painted in the 14th century that are now only faintly visible. The colors faded over the centuries, yet you can still see figures and symbolic animals between the stone columns.
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