Břevnov Monastery Guide: Opening Times, Ticket & Local Tips (2026)

Brevnov Monastery is the first male Benedictine monastery in Bohemia and the oldest still working monastery in the Czech Republic and I also think that is a real hidden gem on the outskirts of Prague.

This large monastery has quiet gardens and large grounds, beautiful church, restaurant with home cooked meals and coffee shop. I’ve visited several times now and I always pop in to the monastery shop to get homemade biscuits, syrups or chocolates, made by different monasteries in the Czech Republic.

The monastery also brews its own beer, which you can taste at the pub inside the monastery grounds. The best thing is that it’s completely free to enter the grounds and gardens. If you want to see inside the monastery and church, you need to join the guided tour, but they are totally worth it.

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Is Brevnov Monastery worth visiting?

Yes and totally yes… if…you have a few extra days in Prague and you’ve already seen the top tourist attractions or you want to escape somewhere a bit quieter and equally amazing.

When I first visited Brevnov Monastery I was quite taken back how large the complex is, how quiet the gardens are and all that just a 15 minutes from the Prague Castle.

I’ve really enjoyed the monastery tour, because I like history and I’m nerdy like that, but this place is lovely even if you just come for the wonderful space, greenery and a good beer!

The Brevnov Monastery Guided Tours

Whilst you can walk around the grounds, church and the monastery buildings at your own leisure, you might also like to take the tour of the monastery inside.

I’ve done the tour recently and I have to say, that it has been a really great way to learn about the history of the monastery. We visited the main Basilica of St. Margaret, the crypt from the 11th century and the Baroque prelature with the Theresian Hall.

The tour is about 90 minutes long. The tour I took was in Czech language, but if you prefer English, you can borrow translated script guide.

The tours are run only at the weekends – all year round – Saturday at 10 am and 2 pm and on Sunday at 11 am and 2 pm. If you are coming as a small group (couple or a family) you don’t need to book in advance, just turn up in plenty of time to buy your ticket and reserve your space. It might be worth having cash with you as the ticket office didn’t take cards, when we visited.

The tours have a large capacity of up to 50 people, so you should be able to get in any time, as long as you arrive early enough.

My Local Tip

This place is just perfect for taking a time to relax and enjoy the quietness of the garden and the easy going atmosphere of the monastery brewery with homemade food.

I like the view from the top of the garden, where you can see the top of the monastery buildings, the church and Prague in the distance.

My favourite souvenir is the Pine Herbal Sugar Syrup, which is perfect for making summer lemonades, but also to add as a sweetener to drinks and I sometimes drizzle it over my breakfast porridge. The Pine Syrup has a lots of vitamin C and has a really earthy flavour.

The Legend Behind the Founding of Břevnov Monastery

The monastery is about half way between Prague Castle and the Pilgrimage Church at Bila Hora, for which the Brevnov Monastery is also responsible for.

Brevnov Monastery was founded on January 14, 993, by Prague Bishop Vojtěch and Czech Prince Boleslav II, in area where according to legend, Vojtech met Boleslav. The name of the monastery is derived from a wooden log (brevno) that lay in a spring where they met.

The legend mentions, that both Boleslav II (called the Pious) and St. Vojtěch had a dream in which they were to go beyond Prague to today’s Břevnov, where they allegedly saw a scene by the Brusnice stream of a deer trying to drink.

But, there was a wooden log in the water, preventing the deer from drinking. According to the legend, St. Vojtěch removed the log, so that the deer can drink the spring water and in memory of this meeting, they founded Brevnov monastery.

Brevnov Monastery History

Like other monasteries in Prague such as Emauzy Monastery or Strahov Monastery, Brevnov was a centre of education. For example Jan of Holešov was a monk who was likely the first one to use spelling with diacritics.

During the Hussite Wars, the monastery was badly damaged and then in 1420, completely destroyed by the Taborites. The surviving monks moved to Broumov Monastery outside Prague.

The monastery was slowly rebuilt in it’s current architectural style between 1708 and 1745 based on the designs of Kryštof Dienzenhofer and his son Kilián Ignác Dienzenhofer, who were famous Czech Baroque architects. Another famous painter and artist Petr Brandl was also helping with restoring the monastery.

The monastery avoided the Josephine reforms, which closed down most of Bohemian monasteries, possibly because the monastery was used as horse stables and hospital during the Prussian siege of Prague in 1757.

The Abbot of Břevnov, František Štěpán Rautenstrauch also significantly contributed to the reforms of higher education and legal and clerical training, so the monastery was spared and didn’t have to close down.

But, the monastery experienced turbulent times in the 20th century. In 1950, it was seized by the communist government, along with other monasteries.

Abbot Anastáz Opasek was unjustly accused of political propaganda and spent the 1950s in prison. After his return, both the monastery and the church were thoroughly renovated between 1991 and 1993 with significant support from foreign monasteries, and in 1997, it was visited by Pope John Paul II.

Brevnov Monastery Architecture

The monastery has beautiful frescoes and some of the most exquisite of which are in the Theresian Hall. As the name suggests, the hall was furnished in honour of Maria Theresa on the occasion of her coronation as Queen of Bohemia, but sadly Maria Theresa has never visited the monastery.

Baroque Pavilion Vojtěška and Other Monuments in the monastery grounds

The garden Baroque pavilion called Vojtěška was built to protect the spring of the Brusnice stream. Inside you can also find a Gothic cross vault, which is the only remaining part of the Gothic monastery. The garden also hides a genius network of Baroque tunnels which used to bring water to the monastery. The large greenhouse has been recently restored and it’s privately rented out to local businesses.

You can also visit the cemetery next to the Church of St. Margaret which is the final resting place of Karel Kryl, who was famous Czech singing poet and eternal rebel.

Practical information for visiting Brevnov Monastery

Location: Marketska 28/1, Brevnov, Prague 6

Opening Times: The monastery grounds are open all year round from dawn to dusk (usually). The guided tours are run during weekends at 10 am and 2 pm

Ticket Prices: Free entry to the grounds and the gardens, tours are 120 CZK (Adults), 80 CZK (Seniors & Students) and 60 CZK (Children). Children have free entry until the age of 6.

The Brevnov Monastery also runs accommodation and a brewery (the brewery also does tours, but these have to be pre-booked in advance for minimum amount of visitors).

How to get to Brevnov Monastery from the centre of Prague

The beginning of the journey is very similar to the way to get to the Prague Castle. Take tram 22 from the city centre (e.g., from Národní třída (underground station line B) or Malostranská Underground Station A line) and ride about 30 minutes to the Brevnovsky Klaster tram stop (you will pass Prague Castle Hill with Strahov Monastery on your way there).

The tram stop is in the middle of busy road, but you will be able to see the monastery gate and church towers once you get of. The monastery grounds are about 3 minutes walk.

This blog post was originally written on 5 December 2024 and last updated on 5 December 2024