Dominating Mendel Square, the Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is the southernmost surviving brick building in the Gothic style in Europe. The construction of the church was initiated in 1323 by the Queen of Bohemia and Poland, Ryksa Elisabeth, wife of Wenceslas II of the Přemyslids.

Creation of the church

Ryksa Elisabeth's foundation charter of 1323 also included the construction of a neighbouring Cistercian monastery, known as the Aulae Sanctae Mariae or Queen's Monastery (destroyed during the siege of the city by Swedish troops in the 17th century). After the queen's death in 1335, her corpse was deposited inside the temple. The burial place on the white marble floor was marked with a golden crowned letter 'E'.

Architecture of the church

The foundress left behind a massive three-nave church with a wreath of three chapels and a spacious, irregular transept. Contrary to the tradition of the time, the church was built in burnt brick, which gives it a unique character.

Further fate of the church

In 1783, by order of Emperor Joseph II, the community of Cistercian nuns in Brno was abolished and the church and the new monastery were taken over by the Augustinians from the St. Thomas Monastery. The Gothic architecture of the church has remained almost unchanged to this day. Although the interior was baroqueised in the 17th century and the arcades between the main and side aisles were walled up in the 19th century, the building is still considered one of the most important Gothic religious buildings in Bohemia. The building's reputation was boosted by the act of John Paul II granting the church the title of Basilica Minor in 1987.