Želiv monastery, Premonstratensian monastery in Želiv, Czech Republic

Želiv monastery is a Premonstratensian monastery located where the Trnávka and Želivka rivers meet, featuring a baroque church with two towers as its centerpiece. The complex includes extensive monastery buildings arranged around the church and now operates a hotel and brewery on the grounds.

The monastery was founded in 1211 and survived multiple fires and reconstructions across centuries. Its most significant transformation came between 1713 and 1720 when architect Jan Blazej Santini-Aichel redesigned the buildings, giving them their present baroque appearance.

The monastery today hosts spiritual retreats, art exhibitions, and music performances where visitors can experience the living tradition of monastic life. These events bring together people interested in both religious practice and contemporary cultural expression.

The monastery can be reached by car from nearby Humpolec and offers accommodation in its guesthouse for visitors seeking to stay overnight. You can also sample the beer produced in the monastery's own brewery and tour the traditional cloistered spaces.

Between 1950 and 1956, the communist regime used the monastery as an internment camp where more than 460 priests and monks were detained. This difficult chapter in 20th-century Czech history is an important context when visiting the site today.