The monastery in Sázava was founded in 1032 by Prince Oldřich. His first abbot, hermit Prokop, later became a Czech saint.

The Sázava monastery was written down in Czech history above all as a place where development of Slavic literature and liturgy continued, which made way for the Solun missionary brothers, Constantine (Cyril) and Methodius, in the region of Moravia in the ninth century. Services in Slavic languages were held here until the year 1097, when the pope forbade Slavic liturgies during religious ceremonies and Slavic monks were banished. The Benedict from Břevnov took over the monastery and led the liturgies in Latin.

In later years, the monastery building was reconstructed, but the original cathedral was never finished. Construction was finally halted at the beginning of the 15th century during the Hussite War, when the monastery was burned and the monks banished. From Gothic times until today a monumental part of the Gothic church is cherished, St. Prokop, the chapel’s abbot, a Gothic crypt and part of the vicar’s hall with an embellished court painted by Emperor Charles IV

In the 17th century, the monastery was reconstructed in the Baroque style; however, in 1785 because of the Josef II.´s reforms, it was destroyed. It was sold at auction to a private owner in the 19th century and was reconstructed into a pseudo-Renaissance castle. Since 1950, it has been owned by the state.

Today you can see here – besides a monumental incomplete three-aisle Gothic cathedral – a Baroque refectory (with the monks’ dining room), a Gothic vicar’s hall with paintings with the theme of the life of Mother Mary on the walls, a Gothic chapel for Mother Mary and a Baroque church, St. Prokop, with a crypt, where the remains of the founder of the monastery, St. Prokop, are laid. In the gardens of the monastery, the foundation of the Holy Cross Church from the 11th century can be seen.

An exhibition of the Old Slavic Sázava recounts the tradition of the Slavic liturgy in the Czech lands and reaches to the extent of religious and political connection. The exhibition also contains a number of archeological finds, models from Middle Ages religious architecture and replicas of manuscripts in Slavic and Latin languages.

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