Ursuline monastery in Prague, Baroque monastery in New Town Prague, Czech Republic.
The Ursuline monastery on Národní Street is a Baroque building featuring stone walls and arched windows across multiple connected wings. These sections surround a central courtyard where gardens provide green space and natural light to the interior of the complex.
Seven Ursuline sisters arrived in Prague from Liège on 9 October 1655, invited by Countess Sibylla of Lamboy and welcomed by Archbishop Vojtěch Arnošt of Harrach. After temporary lodging on Malá Strana and at Újezd, they bought New Town houses in 1664. The old buildings were demolished and the foundation stone of the new monastery was consecrated in 1674; the early Baroque convent and boarding school were built in 1674–1679, with the sisters installed in the new convent on 11 July 1676.
The monastery's name comes from the Ursuline order, whose first seven sisters arrived in Prague on 9 October 1655 from Liège at the invitation of Countess Sibylla of Lamboy. They were welcomed by Archbishop Vojtěch Arnošt Cardinal of Harrach. The complex later housed a boarding school, and its former convent chapel was adapted into a refectory for boarders.
The monastery has two entrances: the main one from Ostrovní Street through the courtyard, and a side service entrance from Národní třída via the Endokrinologický ústav gatehouse. Parts of the complex are leased to the institute, a brewery restaurant and an Italian food shop, so access is limited to those premises.
The monastery's main entrance is reached through a courtyard from Ostrovní Street, while a former gate and service entrance open from Národní Street through the porter's lodge of the Endocrine Institute. The grounds also hold a small remnant of a 1675 ornamental garden, including an apple tree in the courtyard.
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