Franciscan monastery in Bechyně, Gothic monastery in Bechyně, Czech Republic.

The Franciscan monastery in Bechyně sits on a rocky cliff above the Lužnice River, displaying Gothic stone architecture with typical medieval features. The complex includes the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and other structures visible from the rocky riverside setting.

The monastery was founded in 1281 with the construction of the original church; Franciscans arrived in 1284. Hussite troops destroyed and plundered the complex in 1422. The Šternberk lords had it rebuilt in late Gothic form from 1491, when the Observant Franciscans moved back in.

The monastery now houses an art school where students learn within the medieval stone walls. This mix of historic architecture and contemporary education shapes how locals and visitors experience the site.

The monastery is located on Klášterní Street and welcomes visitors who can explore the exterior structures at their own pace. A public garden surrounds the site and provides a pleasant area to walk with views toward the river landscape.

The monastery's monks wove brown cloth in its workshops, supplying the material for Franciscan habits to other houses of the order across the Czech lands. The community numbered at most fifteen friars, and drinking water had to be carried up a steep stairway from the Lužnice until 1785, when it was piped in by gravity from Bechyně's central fountain.