The Transformation of an Old Benedictine Abbey into a Modern Aristocratic Residence. The Building Alterations to Sázava Monastery in the 19Th Century
Abstract
Sázava monastery was one of the major spiritual centres of mediaeval Bohemia. This site, connected with the cult of St.
Prokop, flourished considerably in the Romanesque period and also in High Gothic times. Subsequently it was severely damaged during the Hussite uprising.
The spiritual life of the community was not revived until the eighteenth century. After this the monastery was dissolved in 1785 and sold by auction in 1809.
The first owner of the estate, the knight Wilhelm Tiegl of Lindenkron, already tried to suppress the previous character of the building and to create a representative seat for his recently ennobled family. This continued after 1869 under a later owner, Jan Friedrich of Neuberg.
Demolition and new building work left their mark on the old Benedictine abbey, creating a completely new atmosphere, which is still preserved in the complex today. The "old" building work of the Benedictine abbots here became the starting-point for and also an obstacle to the "new" representative plans of the new owners.