Monastery Na Slovanech – Emauzy
The Benedictine monastery with a church consecrated to the Virgin Mary, St. Jerome and the Slavic patrons, saints Cyril, Methodius, Vojtěch and Procopius, was founded by Charles IV in 1347. Because it was the centre of old-Slavic language liturgy, people begun to call it Na Slovanech (Slovan = Slav). The name Emauzy stems from the fact that the laying of the foundation stone and consecration of the monastery took place on the Easter Monday, when the gospel about how Christ appeared to his disciples en route to the town of Emmaus (Emauzy) is being read at service.
Emauzy became a significant centre of learning and arts: ancient Slavic was studied here by, among others, Jan Hus and Jerome of Prague, the murals here are some of the most precious examples of the Czech Gothic. Emauzy were practically levelled during an air raid in 1945. The church was rebuilt, but the original front towers were replaced by an asymmetrical shell-shaped structure, designed by František Maria Černý.
