Detour

When returning home from Křivoklát, we stopped for a while by a group of buildings we noticed along the way and which arose our curiosity.

We found out that the complex represents a regional museum and gallery Mariánská Týnice which has been placed in the premises of a former Cistercian pilgrimage destination. When I read that the museum was opened in 1952, I wasn’t much surprised as the fifties, having been under the communist rule, were quite unfavourable to religious orders and religion generally. On the other hand, the buildings were preserved in this way and that’s valuable.

It is noteworthy that the church and the provost office were built according to plans of Jan Santini, a Bohemian architect of Italian descent, whose major works represent the unique Baroque Gothic style.

We didn’t enter any of the buildings as we were already tired and eager to go home, we just contented ourselves with the exteriors and with getting some idea about the place.

There is a nice door inside the old walls above, and a nice paving covers the yard. In the back I discovered a door which was old and blotchy but beautifully decorated…

And two more with interesting design. You can imagine I could stay there much longer and be looking for interesting details…

I’m so glad we made that detour and I think it would be a great idea to return there during another season, let’s say in summer when the trees would be covered with leaves and the yard would be decorated with flowers… or in winter when the premises are covered with snow…