Augustinian Abbey in Brno and Mendel

The monastery was an academic centre in Mendel’s days

In addition to eventually serving as an abbot, Mendel conducted scientific research and cross-bred peas to identify the rules of hereditary traits using mathematical principles. His activities at the abbey are commemorated by a memorial plaque from 1922 by Vojtěch Eduard Šaff placed in the passage hall, a memorial with a portrait statue from 1910 by Theodor Charlemont, and a granite memorial from 1922 located in the courtyard.

The Augustinians were given a former Cistercian monastery as a replacement for their original building on Moravské náměstí (Moravian Square) which had been taken from them during the reforms by Joseph II. Bazilika Nanebevzetí Panny Marie (the Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady), built in the Silesian Gothic style with typical red bricks, is located on the abbey grounds. Under the stones in the nave, marked with a small crown and the letter ‘E’, is the tomb of Queen Elisabeth Richeza, founder of the monastery and wife of Czech King Václav II (Wenceslaus II of Bohemia), who devoted her time to charitable activities. The main altar has a valuable Byzantine-style painting called the Black Madonna.

It is also worth noting that beer is still brewed in the building that served as the monastery’s brewery, now the location of the Starobrno brewery.