Social Programme
CONCERT AND GALA DINNER IN PRAGUE BREVNOV MONASTERY
We would like to invite you to attend organ concert and conference gala dinner, which will be organized for conference registrants and their companions in Prague Brevnov Monastery at Tuesday evening June 15th, 2010. The organ concert will take place in the St. Margaret church, and conference gala dinner will be held in the neighbouring Brevnov Monastery rooms. Nominal payment will be charged for conference registrants and their companions. Tickets can be purchased during on-line registration (20 €) and at the Registration Desk (25 €) on a first-come basis.
The Brevnov Monastery belongs to the Benedictine Order and it is the oldest friary in Bohemia. It was founded by Prague Bishop Adalbert and Czech Prince Boleslav II in 993 AD. A stone church was built there in the 11 th century. In the 13th century, a part of the relics of St. Marguerite were transported to the monastery, which gave the name to the place. The monastery became a significant religious and cultural institution with an extensive library. The Brevnov Monastery was rebuilt several times due to a fire but also because of plundering and looting during the Hussite Wars and once again by Swedish troops during the Thirty Years´ War. Its current Baroque appearance stems from the 18th century, when the monastery was fundamentally rebuilt. Between 1708 and 1735 Church of St. Margaret was built, which interiors are decorated by the works of the famous painter Petr Brandl. It is interesting to note, that this is the very first Prague church that received from the Pope the honorary title Basilica Minor.
The extensive complex of the monastery also consists of two buildings of the convent, utility buildings, prelature and the terraced garden with sala terrena, which houses the ancient well called Vojtěška and the Chapel of St. Joseph. The dramatic 20th century afflicted the Brevnov Monastery seriously. It was occupied by Communist government in 1950 using the monastery as a headquarter of secret police and the abbot was unjustly imprisoned. Benedictine monks returned to the Brevnov Monastery in 1990s and they restored the buildings.
There are 13 monks at the moment in Brevnov Monastery. Sightseeing takes place there nowadays, guides speaking foreign languages are available. The St. Margaret Basilica, the prelate building, the Romanesque crypt can be visited only during the weekends. The Monastery garden can be visited every day.
WALKING SIGHTSEEING TOUR OF HISTORIC CENTRE OF PRAGUE
We would like to invite you to join sightseeing tour of historic centre of Prague (guided in English), which will be organized for conference participants and their companions at Sunday 13th June afternoon. The tour will start in front of Hotel DAP (conference SPEA6 venue) at 14:00. We will transfer you to the Prague Castle, and from there you will walk along the Royal Route through the New Town, accross Charles Bridge to the city centre at Old Town, where the tour will end at the Old Town Square. The tour will take approx. 3 hours and will be free of charge. Participants interested in this tour should contact SPEA6 LOC and register untill 30th May 2010 at e-mail .
MARTIN TOUR PRAGUE TRAVEL AGENCY
For more tours we recommend to contact Martin Tour Travel Agency, which organizes a number of sightseeing tours of Prague, Vltava river cruises, and trips and excursions of other places in the Czech Republic (Karlstejn Castle, Konopiste Castle, Cesky Krumlov, Karlovy Vary - Carlsbad, Kutna Hora, Terezin Memorial).
