New discoveries in Dominican Monastery in České Budějovice

During the restoration of the cloister, discoveries were made which fundamentally extended the knowledge of the history of the former Dominican Monastery as well as the once-royal town of České Budějovice. Among others, an early Gothic portal to the Capitulary Hall was discovered that had been hitherto walled up. This was the location where the most important meetings of the monastic community were held. The Medieval Capitulary Hall was destroyed during Baroque modifications to the monastery in the 18^th century and its original location was unclear up to now. The uncovered portal is from the last thirty years of the 13^th century, from the time of the very beginnings of the town and monastery, and the associated window with lobes is from the late 14^th century. At this period in history, at the end of the reign of Emperor Charles IV, the cloister was in the final stages of construction and was being painted. The period of Charles IV brings another surprising and extraordinarily valuable discovery:

In the northern wing of the cloister, to the right of the church entrance, three Marian paintings were preserved. In the lower left is a scene of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary, at the right the Visitation of the Virgin Mary. Of extraordinary significance is the picture in the upper part, showing Virgin Mary the Protector. In this scene, Mary, beneath her cloak, is symbolically protecting the laity and church. The uniqueness of this picture lies in the fact that the figures being protected by the Virgin Mary are historically identifiable. The painting is in fragments, however the figures of the Roman Emperor and Czech King Charles IV together with his son Václav IV can be recognized. Charles is portrayed as an older man with the crown of the Roman king, and Václav as a young man with the same crown. This portrayal of these two rulers with their respective attributes enables their identification, but also dates the picture quite precisely as between 1376, when Václav IV was elected Roman king, and 1378, when Charles IV died.

At this historical period, exactly between May 5 and 7, 1378, the Emperor Charles and his 17-year-old son Václav were in České Budějovice to head up difficult negotiations concerning empirical and domestic matters. The meetings were attended by princes of the empire as well as leading Czech nobles and prelates such as the Moravian Margrave Jošt, the Dukes of Opava Jan and Mikuláš, Jan Zhořelecký, Archbishop Jan Očko of Vlašim, Bishop Jan of Jenštejn, and others. This meeting was very likely the occasion that gave rise to the painting of the rulers under the protection of the Virgin Mary. Such period portrayals of the Emperor and his son are known only in very narrow circles of court historical art monuments such as Karlštejn or the St. Vitus cathedral in Prague. In the environment of a royal town such as České Budějovice, this is quite a unique artistic and, especially, culturally historic monument.