The Cistercian Abbey in Vyšší Brod is one of the most beautiful and authentically preserved monasteries in the Czech lands. It was founded by Wok von Rosenberg in June 1259 as a family spiritual institute serving for continuous prayers for the salvation of the souls of the members of the founding Rosenberg family and at the same time a burial ground for members of this then most powerful Czech noble family. The economic and strategic importance of the fortified monastery as an administrative center, usable also for defensive purposes, cannot be neglected.
As the name suggests, there has always been a ford over the Vltava River, at which a market settlement of the same name was established, which became a serf town during the 13th and 14th centuries. The second monastery town became Hořice na Šumavě in 1290.
According to legend, after being miraculously rescued from the waters of the stormy Vltava River in mid-1259, Wok von Rosenberg, then Marshal of the Kingdom of Bohemia and Provincial Judge in Upper Austria, then Provincial Governor in Styria, became the founder of the monastery. He continued the previously begun royal colonization work, among other things, on the upper Vltava. The establishment of the Cistercian monastery in Vyšší Brod was one of the most important founding acts of this magnate. From the Middle Ages until the beginning of the 20th century, the monastery was of fundamental importance for the economic and cultural development of the region. It was founded on a hill above the right bank of the Vltava River, not far from the lower market town, after which the monastery is named. The foundation was approved by the Bishop of Prague in the form of a charter on June 1, 1259.
The monastery was inhabited by Cistercian monks from the Upper Austrian monastery of Wilhering near Linz. The founder of the monastery equipped the monastery with land and villages with patronage rights to churches. First, the end of the church and the chapter hall were built, which were completed around 1290, and during the first half of the 14th century, the church with quadrature was completed. Therefore, we find many valuable architectural details here. Other branches of the Vítkovci family, especially the lords of Krumlov and the small surrounding nobility, including the Harrachs, the lords of Pasovar, the lords of Jívovice, of Pátek or the lords of Heršlák, also participated in the foundation. The names already indicate that the original, but few Czech colonizations met here without conflict, with more massive German-language colonization, mainly from Upper Austria. In the form of granting indulgences, ecclesiastical personalities also participated in the construction of the monastery, e.g. bishops Frederick of Chiemsee, Heinrich of Lavant, Heinrich of Merseburg, Rutger of Botzen, Rudolf of Syrique, Sigismund of Salona or Bernard of Meissen, Prague bishops Tobiáš of Benešov and Mikuláš of Riesenburg, Archbishop Jan of Jenštejn of Prague and cardinals Pileus and Alanus. It can therefore be stated that this was truly European support.
At the end of the 14th century, the monastery achieved significant economic successes, as evidenced by its preserved urbarium, the oldest in Bohemia. This was also the reason for its high cultural level, which culminated in the pre-Hussite period during the reign of Abbot Otík of Vyhnanice, a member of the lower Czech nobility. Liturgical manuscripts were created in the monastery, others were bought and expensive decoration of the monastery church took place. Here it is necessary to mention 9 panel paintings of the so-called Vyšší Brod Cycle. It was created before the middle of the 14th century at the request of an important courtier of King John of Luxembourg, Peter I of Rosenberg (today in the National Gallery in Prague). He was also one of the greatest supporters of the completion of the monastery, where he donated at least 217 scores of Prague groschen. The first mention of the monastery hospital dates back to 1347. In 1402, the monastery obtained, through the intercession of Henry III of Rosenberg, the right of pontificates for abbots from the Pope.
The promising development of the monastery was interrupted by the Hussite wars, which brought destruction to the wider area. It should be remembered here that in 1422 the monastery defended itself against the Hussite attack with the help of the Rosenberg military garrison, but its trusses were burned in the process. Due to the indebtedness of the main and deserving opponent of the Hussites, Oldřich von Rosenberg, the monastery and its jewels had to be pledged to the Austrian lord Reinprecht of Wallsee in the years 1420 – 1462.
From the middle of the 15th century, the monastery succeeded, with the help of the Rosenberg family, to consolidate its spiritual life, its economy and to begin to develop the religious and cultural activities of the order again. From the end of the 15th century, we record an intensive building of the monastery library, when both manuscripts and incunabula were added to it by purchasing and references from bibliophiles, which are still in the library today.
