📍 Kláštěr Plasy

About the venue

The former Cistercian monastery at Plasy, 20 km north of Pilsen, is one of the most important Baroque complexes in Bohemia. Prince Vladislav II founded it in 1144 as the first royal Cistercian foundation in the country. After being burned by the Hussites, it was grandly rebuilt between 1661 and 1785 to designs by Mathey, Santini and Dientzenhofer. The convent building rests on more than 5,100 oak piles kept permanently submerged in water, which caused them to petrify over time. From 1826 it served as the residence of Chancellor Metternich; since 1995 it has been a National Cultural Monument administered by the National Heritage Institute.