Franciscan Monastery with Church of St. Catherine in JH

The convent building currently houses the District Court. Henry IV of Hradec donated land to the Franciscans and built the monastery complex at his own expense. The foundation was later expanded by Anna of Münsterberg, widow of Henry IV of Hradec. She established a so-called “small convent” opposite the monastery – a beguine cloister with a hospital (in use until 1598, then only as a widow’s residence). In 1619, during the Estates Uprising, the church and convent were burned. The reconsecration of the repaired church took place in 1625 in the presence of Prague Archbishop Arnošt Vojtěch Harrach. The convent restoration was completed later, during the 1640s. The monastery was struck by another fire, and during subsequent repairs in the 1670s, the Chapel of Porziuncola was added. The reconstruction is attributed to F. Caratti or G. D. Orsi, who worked for the Slavata family. During the Josephine reforms, the convent was initially abolished, but the decision was later reversed. The Franciscans remained in Jindřichův Hradec until the final abolition of the convent in 1950.