Zlata Koruna Monastery

Zlata Koruna was founded in 1263 by Premysl Otakar II as a Cistercian house and a counterweight to Rosenberg power in southern Bohemia, and its name - Golden Crown - comes from a relic of the crown of thorns which the king is said to have given it. The abbey is one of the best-preserved Gothic monastic complexes in Central Europe: the church of the Assumption, the chapter house, the cloister with its vaults, and above all the small two-storey Chapel of the Guardian Angels of about 1300, a rare survival with a central pillar carrying the vault of both floors. In the courtyard stands an ancient lime tree, traditionally said to have grown from the relic and known as the tree of hanged monks from a Hussite episode. The monastery holds a museum of South Bohemian literature. It sits in a tight meander of the Vltava on the canoe route from Cesky Krumlov.

What you actually see

• A preserved Gothic complex - church, chapter house and vaulted cloister.
• The Chapel of the Guardian Angels - two floors on one central pillar, about 1300.
• An ancient lime - tied by tradition to the crown of thorns relic.
• A Vltava meander - the abbey inside a tight bend on the canoe route.

When to go

April to October. Half a day.

Honest expectations

Guided tours only, on set routes, and seasonal. Closed Mondays outside high season. The village is very small. Canoe traffic on the river is heavy in July and August.

Nearby

Cesky Krumlov is upstream; Divci Kamen is downstream.