Zlatá koruna Monastery, Cistercian monastery in Zlatá Koruna, Czech Republic

Zlatá Koruna Monastery is a former Cistercian abbey founded in 1263, its buildings largely medieval with later Baroque alterations. The Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary is a three-aisled basilica with a transept and polygonal choir, begun in the late 13th century and finished after the mid-14th. The chapter house dates from 1280–1300 and the refectory from before 1350; the cloister was remodelled in Rococo style between 1755 and 1785.

King Ottokar II of Bohemia founded the monastery in 1263 and named it after a relic from the Crown of Thorns sent by French King Louis IX. Over the centuries, the building was rebuilt several times and reflects the artistic changes of different periods.

The monastery's name comes from a relic of Christ's Crown of Thorns given to Ottokar II, and the German form Goldenkron is first recorded in 1315. The Gothic Madonna of Goldenkron, made around 1420, was returned from the Prague National Gallery to the monastery on 17 April 2016.

The monastery is in Zlatá Koruna, about 8 km from Český Krumlov, and has been open to the public since 1945. The grounds combine medieval and Baroque buildings, so expect uneven surfaces and stairs between the church, chapter house and cloister. The entrance door in the tall tan facade is reached by a paved stone path.

The Gothic Madonna of Goldenkron, carved around 1420, was returned from the National Gallery in Prague to the monastery on 17 April 2016. The church also holds a large tracery round window with terracotta elements and a stucco frame in the east arm of the transept.