The St Agnes of Bohemia Convent

The St Agnes of Bohemia Convent is the oldest Gothic building in the city of Prague.  This building has a lot of historical significance and heritage and one that needs to be visited when exploring Prague.  When you visit the convent you will be near the St Francis church.

The convent is made up of two buildings, the convent of Poor Clares and a small Franciscan monastery.  Also you will find other great buildings of interest to explore while visiting the convent such as St Francis Church, the Chapel of St Mary Magdalene, St Agnes’s private oratory, St Barbora’s Chapel and Premysl’s mausoleum of Holy Saviour.

When traveling through Prague you will be able to visit the convent by entering into the old town sections of the city. 

In 1233 the first visitors from Italian Assisi and seven Bohemian noblegirls took up residence in the convent.  At the time of its construction the convent was the most modern building of its time.  It had all of the modern coviences that we have come to expect today.

During the Hussite’s war the convent was abandoned by the nuns and like so may other buildings in Prague made into a base for military soldiers and their commanding officers.  After the war the building was abandoned and soon came into disrepair.

The legend of the convent

Like so many places the convent has a secret that has been lost through the ages of time.  It was rumored that the nuns received an ancient recipe from a poor Polish noblewoman for a special elixir they called swallow water.  This elixir was sold at a moderate price to help fund the convent as well as given away to those who couldn’t afford it.  Unfortunately the recipe was lost when the last nun died due to her promise to take the recipe to the grave.