Porta coeli (,

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

: ''Heaven's Gate'') is a 13th-century

convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

located in

Předklášteří Předklášteří is a municipality and village in Brno-Country District in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,500 inhabitants. Administrative division Předklášteří consists of two municipal parts (in brackets pop ...

, near

Tišnov Tišnov (; ) is a town in Brno-Country District in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 9,200 inhabitants. Administrative division Tišnov consists of five municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 cens ...

South Moravian Region The South Moravian Region (; , ; ), or just South Moravia, is an Regions of the Czech Republic, administrative unit () of the Czech Republic, located in the south-western part of its historical region of Moravia. The region's capital is Brno, th ...

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

. Situated in the valley of the Svratka River, this Cistercian convent was founded in 1233 by Queen Constance of Hungary. Descended on the maternal side from the

house of Anjou Angevin or House of Anjou may refer to: *County of Anjou or Duchy of Anjou, a historical county, and later Duchy, in France **Angevin (language), the traditional langue d'oïl spoken in Anjou **Counts and Dukes of Anjou *House of Ingelger, a Franki ...

, and the widow of King

Ottokar I of Bohemia Ottokar I (; 1155 – 1230) was Duke of Bohemia periodically beginning in 1192, then acquired the title of King of Bohemia, first in 1198 from Philip of Swabia, later in 1203 from Otto IV of Brunswick and in 1212 (as hereditary) from ...

, Queen Constance was also buried at Porta coeli. The church was consecrated in 1239 by

Bernhard Bernhard is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name *Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar (1604–1639), Duke of Saxe-Weimar *Bernhard, Prince of Saxe-Meiningen (1901–1984), head of the House of Saxe-Meiningen 1946 ...

, then-

Bishop of Prague The following is a list of bishops and archbishops of Prague. The bishopric of Prague was established in 973, and elevated to an archbishopric on 30 April 1344. The current Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Prague is the continual successor of the bis ...

, with the approval and presence of Robert the Englishman, then- Bishop of Olomouc. It has three aisles, a

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

and a rather long sanctuary ending in a five-sided

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

. Despite the austerity of the Cistercian rules, the western façade has a portal reminiscent of French cathedrals. It is unique in the area of Europe east of

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

. The interior contains valuable

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

furnishings from after 1764: on the high altar there is a painting by F. A. Maulbertsch, a sculpture by Andreas Schweigl, and other paintings by the Jesuit artist

Ignác Raab Ignác Viktorin Raab (5 September 1715 – 2 February 1787) was a Czech painter and Jesuit brother. He is considered one of the most important Czech painters of the 18th century. Raab's work can be traced to the influence of Italian and Czech m ...

. The cloister walk is noteworthy for its early Gothic vaulting, its figurative and decorative carvings, and the chapter house which was built between 1260 and 1270. There is a brewery situated on the premises of the monastery, opened in 2019 as "Vorkloster", the German name for the village where the monastery is located (Předklášteří).

Attractions

The convent was saved twice (in 1861 and 1990) from destruction by the efforts of Europe's smallest nation, the

Lusatian Sorbs Sorbs (; ; ; ; ; also known as Lusatians, Lusatian Serbs and Wends) are a West Slavic ethnic group predominantly inhabiting the parts of Lusatia located in the German states of Saxony and Brandenburg. Sorbs traditionally speak the Sorbian lan ...

, specifically by the convent of the Marienstern Monastery in Panschwitz-Kuckau. The

asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet—an object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified comet—that orbits within the Solar System#Inner Solar System, inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter (Trojan asteroids). As ...

3276 Porta Coeli is named after this convent.

Gallery

File:1 DJI 0953.jpg, Portal of the church with neo-gothic chapel Image:Konstancie Uherska Porta Coeli.jpg, Tympanum - probably the King Otakar I. and Constance of Hungary kneeling at the feet of Jesus Image:Porta Coeli Monastery 06.jpg, The Cloister File:Porta Coeli Monastery (by Pudelek).JPG, Exhibition showing history of the monastery File:Portál - lev.jpg, The detail of the Postal with Apostels Image:Porta Coeli2.JPG, View from the east

References

External links

Klášter Porta coeli
– official webpage Convents of the Catholic Church in Europe Cistercian monasteries in the Czech Republic Roman Catholic churches in the Czech Republic 13th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the Czech Republic Buildings and structures in the South Moravian Region Tourist attractions in the South Moravian Region National cultural monuments of the Czech Republic Brno-Country District {{CzechRepublic-struct-stub