St Thomas's Abbey (or the ''Königskloster'') is an

Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sain ...

abbey and church located in Brno in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. The

geneticist A geneticist is a biologist or physician who studies genetics, the science of genes, heredity, and variation of organisms. A geneticist can be employed as a scientist or a lecturer. Geneticists may perform general research on genetic processes ...

and

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The ...

Gregor Mendel Gregor Johann Mendel, OSA (; cs, Řehoř Jan Mendel; 20 July 1822 – 6 January 1884) was a biologist, meteorologist, mathematician, Augustinian friar and abbot of St. Thomas' Abbey in Brünn (''Brno''), Margraviate of Moravia. Mendel was ...

was its most famous

religious Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatur ...

leader to date, who between 1856 and 1863 conducted his

experiment An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into Causality, cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome oc ...

s on

pea The pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the flowering plant species ''Pisum sativum''. Each pod contains several peas, which can be green or yellow. Botanically, pea pods are fruit, since they contain seeds and d ...

plants in the monastery

garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...

. His experiments brought forth two generalizations which later became known as Mendel's Laws of Inheritance. The Abbey is unique amongst modern Augustinian foundations because it is not called a

priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of ...

, and indeed it has an

(''Prälat'' - prelate) whereas all other existing Augustinian friaries are led by a prior.

History

The Augustinians arrived in Brno in 1346, and John Henry of Luxemburg (Jan Jindřich Lucemburský), Margrave of

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The m ...

, began the construction of their original

cloister A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a ...

in 1352. These premises are located on Moravian Square. In 1650s, a musical foundation for the monastery was established, with paid musical

scholar A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researc ...

s. This was the early beginning of a long and significant musical tradition at the Brno monastery. In 1780s, the Emperor

Joseph II Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 un ...

forced the friars to move out because he liked their well-located and representative buildings. These were given to the governor office and the church was turned to standard parish church. The friars moved to suburban Staré Brno where they took over the abolished Cistercian convent and church. Czech composer Pavel Křížkovský also took monastic vows at Brno, teaching liturgical music from 1848 until 1872, and from 1865 he formed an ongoing musical collaboration with the young ( lay) composer

Leoš Janáček Leoš Janáček (, baptised Leo Eugen Janáček; 3 July 1854 – 12 August 1928) was a Czech composer, musical theorist, folklorist, publicist, and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian and other Slavic musics, including Eastern European f ...

who had come from his home in Hukvaldy and begun as a choirboy at the monastery.

Mendel Museum

The Augustinian Abbey now hosts the Mendel Museum of GeneticsMendelmuseum.muni.cz
/ref> dedicated to the founder of

genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinian friar wor ...

. Visits to the Museum include a walk in the garden in which

carried out his famous experiments.

References

External links

Photographic tour of St. Thomas' Abbey

Order of St Augustine, International Homepage

Augustinian Abbey of St. Thomas at Brno

Mendel Museum of MU website

Masaryk University to rebuild Mendel’s greenhouse , Brno Now
{{Authority control Augustinian monasteries Christian monasteries in the Czech Republic Religious organizations established in the 14th century Churches in Brno Gregor Mendel Burial sites of the Opavian Přemyslids Augustinian churches in the Czech Republic

History

Mendel Museum

See also

References

External links