Church of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Church of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary ranks among the oldest and most valuable heritage sites in České Budějovice. It was built when the town was founded in 1265. A tower was added in the second half of the 15th century. The unfinished church was consecrated for church services already in 1274. However, the monastery itself took relatively long to build piece by piece. It was only completed after 1380, when the Well Chapel protruding from its square footprint was finished. The church was destroyed by several fires, but it has retained its original Early Gothic appearance. The church interior contains remains of precious decorative paintings from the 14th and 15th centuries (such as the ten-meter-tall figure of St Christopher, St Dorothea, Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary and St George). There are valuable murals in the cloister as well. A monastery building with a Gothic ambulatory connects to the Church of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the south. Inside the convent is a garth, surrounded on all sides by noteworthy cloisters and a monastic garden.

The monastery tour includes the White Tower, dating to the Late Gothic period. It has a Baroque cupola and is a prominent feature in the cityscape to this day with a height of 51 meters. The five Baroque statues in the monastery garden, made by Josef Dietrich, are also unique. They were originally situated by the entrance to the monastery church. Tradition says that the sculptor gave the statue of St Joseph his own face.