Architect Soukup on architecture and the history of the monastery in Chotěšov

Chotěšov (Plzeň Region) - The twelfth edition of the charity event, which aims to draw attention to the state of the deteriorating national cultural monument, will enliven the grounds of the former Premonstratensian monastery in Chotěšov in the Plzeň region on August 2nd. In addition to the cultural program, the Evening for the Chotěšov Monastery will also offer lectures on history and tours of places that are normally inaccessible to the public, said Pavel Říha, chairman of the organizing association Chotěšovská vlna, to ČTK.
    “Every year we try to make accessible a part of the monastery that is normally closed throughout the year. This year we have prepared a real special - tours of the northern and southern towers that form the characteristic silhouette of the monastery, which have never been opened to the public before. Unique are also tours of the monastery roofs, tours of the Baroque and Gothic cellars, and of course the main building of the convent,” he stated. There is traditionally great interest in a lecture by Plzeň architect Jan Soukup on the architecture and history of the monastery.
    Visitors can look forward to theatrical and fencing performances, military encampments from the Thirty Years' War and the First World War, demonstrations of medieval warfare, and activities of the Red Cross during the First World War from 2 PM to midnight. There will be two music stages on the grounds, an outdoor and an intimate indoor one. “We are striving for the greatest possible diversity of genres, so at one event people will hear an unusual combination of harp and drums as well as bands playing rock, folk, and ska,” said the event's dramaturge Jakub Švehla.
    The charity event was established in 2003 as an initiative of young people who wanted to raise money for tools for their volunteer work in the monastery. “It has been 15 years since we started coming to the monastery as teenagers for volunteer brigades and subsequently established the charity Evening for the monastery. With the cultural program, we want to attract visitors and thus bring life to the beautiful grounds of the monastery, which is empty for most of the year,” added Říha.
    The Premonstratensian monastery in Chotěšov was founded at the beginning of the 13th century. Over the centuries, it has been repeatedly plundered, demolished, burned, and gradually restored. Today, most of the monastery belongs to Chotěšov, which is trying to gradually restore the monument with the help of subsidies. In 2003, the American foundation World Monuments Fund, which focuses on the protection of world cultural heritage, included the monastery among the 100 most endangered monuments in the world.