Sázava monastery – the beginnings of monastic culture in Bohemia

doc. dr. P. Sommer, CSc, 2008-2012

This project builds on the results of three decades of archaeological and structural historical survey at the Benedictine abbey at Sázava (this work being led from 1980-1995 by the proposer). These efforts have brought together an outstanding collection of source material and information relating to the architecture of the abbey, the development of its layout and its context with regard to the lay settlement. The heart of the project comprises the tracing of the initial wooden form of the abbey, documented in its exceptional complexity, and the related Romanesque structures. In addition to reconstructing and dating of the architecture, the aim is to understand the functions of the individual spheres within this monastic house, and to interpret the large assemblage of portable material evidence reflecting the daily life, cult and production of the cummunity occupying the abbey and its environs. This is a unique oportunity to draw comparisons on a European scale.