Tepla

Tepla is the renowned town housing one of the most famous Czech Republic Religious sites. The Premonstratensian Monastery in Tepla was founded by the noble man Lord Hroznata in the year 1193. This was built as a recompense to the then Pope for he freed Hroznata from taking part in the Third Crusade between 1189 and 1192. The monks from Prague Strahov monastery came to live here and they were also the owners of the spa resort Marianske Lazne. The library within the compound houses over 100,000 books and is the second largest library in the Czech Republic.

Within the precincts of the Premonstratensian Monastery, stands the Romanesque-Gothic church Annunciation of the Lord dating back to the 13th Century. It is a three-nave hall church which was restored to a baroque style by Christoph Dientzenhofer later in the 18th century. Hroznata breathed his last in 1217 and lies in peace in this very church. He was later beatified in 1897. At present the site encloses a golf course and hotel.

The Premonstratensian Monastery of Tepla was used as army barrack under the Communist regime when no developmental work was done. The possession of the Order only came recently in 1990 and restoration has begun to save the valuable remains of Tepla.