Minorite Monastery with the Church of St. John the Baptist

The Minorite Monastery, dating back to the 14th century, is located on the northern side of the church. Its most valuable part is the eastern side of the cloister and the so-called Drapers’ Chapel, originally a chapter hall, vaulted on a central pillar. Architectural modifications to other parts of the cloister continued until the end of the 15th century, and the oldest wall paintings originate from this period. From the second half of the 16th century, the monastery building, to which two grand Renaissance halls were added, served as a hospital. Today, it houses the Jindřichův Hradec Museum with a permanent exhibition Religious Art in the Chapel of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, where the Tree of Life from the Pauline church in Klášter near Nová Bystřice is displayed in the sacristy. Exhibitions are held in the Renaissance halls and in the cloister. The church is used for Christmas nativity exhibitions and for concerts.

Interesting fact:

The Jindřichův Hradec Museum also manages the Jesuit Seminary on Balbín Square, where most of the permanent exhibitions are located, including the famous Krýza’s Crèche. This is the largest folk mechanical nativity scene in the world, listed in the Guinness Book of Records and one of the museum’s most visited exhibits. The magnificent nativity scene was created by the Jindřichův Hradec master Tomáš Krýza over more than sixty years. The crèche contains 1398 human and animal figures, 133 of which are movable. The figures are made of papier-mâché and wood. The original mechanism, which was initially operated by hand, now distributes movement from a single electric motor. The crèche covers an area of nearly 60 square meters.