Augustinian monastery in Zaječov, Augustinian monastery in Nová Ves, Czech Republic.

The Augustinian monastery in Zaječov, known as Svatá Dobrotivá, centres on the three-aisled Church of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary, Gothic in core and later Baroque. East and south two-storey wings of the convent adjoin its presbytery; a wall with a gate closes the west side. Between the presbytery and the north facade stands the sacristy with the Chapel of St Augustine and St Nicholas of Tolentino, with a tower above, and the small Chapel of St Dobrotivá.

Oldřich Zajíc z Valdeka founded the convent and Church of the Annunciation in 1262, thanking Přemysl Otakar II for his victory at Kressenbrunn; Augustinian hermits arrived the next year. Relics of Saint Benigna, martyred in 449, came in 1327. After the Hussite wars and Zajíc and Lobkovic rule, the Augustinians returned in 1676 and rebuilt in Baroque style to plans by Domenico Canevalle and his son. Suppressed in 1785, restored in 1789, it was forcibly closed in April 1950 under Operation K.

The monastery takes its name from Saint Dobrotivá (Benigna), whose relics arrived in 1327, and it became the goal of annual pilgrimages until the Hussite wars. A legend tells that two men led Oldřich Zajíc z Valdeka to a valley where the Virgin Mary asked him to build a monastery there. Since 1990 Augustinians from the Prague monastery of St. Thomas have travelled here to celebrate regular services.

The monastery stands in the Zaječov district of Svatá Dobrotivá, in the Beroun District. Regular services in the Church of the Annunciation are served by Augustinians who travel from the Prague monastery at St. Thomas; the grounds are gradually being repaired, so parts may be closed.

The monastery's name comes from Saint Dobrotivá (Benigna), martyred in 449, whose relics arrived in 1327; the church also held a reputedly miraculous statue of Saint Benigna. A foundation legend tells that two men led Oldřich Zajíc z Valdeka in a dream to a forested valley, where the Virgin Mary asked him to build a monastery there.