St. Procopius Basilica in Třebíč

Lore & Background

The basilica was constructed on the site of the original Romanesque church of the Benedictine monastery, which was dedicated to the Virgin Mary. No widely accepted historical record supports the existence of a chapel of St. Procopius consecrated in 1104; the original church was dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Five years later, the monastery had its own church, consecrated in 1109 by Bishop Heřman. Duke Litold Znojemský and his brother Duke Oldřich Brněnský, founders of the monastery, were buried in the monastery church, though their burial specifically in the crypt is not definitively established.

Reader's Guide

The basilica's significance lies in its preserved Romanesque-Gothic architecture and its role as part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site that also includes the Jewish Quarter. It was originally dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, but Saint Procopius became its patron saint in 1704 on the quincentenary of his canonization.

Jan Karel, Count of Valdštejn, established a castle chapel of St. Procopius from the basilica's presbytery. As of 2013, the renovated Třebíč castle adjacent to the basilica serves as a museum. The basilica's history is closely tied to the Benedictine monastery, which grew rich and influential, leading to a reconstruction from about 1240 to 1260 that replaced earlier Romanesque architecture with the current structure, preserved in its original style.