Cistercian Monastery in Vyšší Brod

When you are walking or driving through the picturesque countryside around the Lipno Reservoir, don’t forget to visit the monastery in Vyšší Brod, the spiritual centre of South Bohemia since the middle of the 13th century.

The first monks came here from the Cistercian monastery in Wilhering near the Austrian city of Linz and a small community again lives here nowadays. It was precisely for this location that the famous Gothic painting The Madonna of Vyšší Brod was purchased as well as a panel series by an unknown artist who worked in the court of Charles IV. You will also see an ingenious early Baroque altar system in the monastery church, which was created by two local monks in such a way that they could easily change the altarpiece four times a year. Another high point of the tour is the richly decorated library dating back to the Baroque period.