Svitavy

Title

Svitavy

Also Known As

Kostel svatého Jiljí, Spitalni Klaster, Svitava, Svitavia, Zwitava, Zwittau

Dates

Founded 1170; dissolved 1556

Dedication

Giles; Visitation of Mary

Affiliation

Litomyšl

Medieval Diocese

Olomouc

History

Svitavy was founded ca. 1170 as a priory dependent on the Premonstratensian abbey of Litomyšl. It was dissolved in the 16th century.

The priory's church is now a Catholic parish church. The rectory was rebuilt in the Baroque style in the 1670s/80s.

Heads of Community

Priors

Mikuláš I, fl. 1364
Benedikt, 1453-1457
Jan de Ruina, fl. 1463
Mikuláš II, 1497-1503
Arnošt, fl. 1509
Lukáš, 1519-1525
Wolfgang, fl. 1554

Status

Priory

Bibliography

Kašpar, Josef. “Dva staré kostely v dekanátu Svitavském na Moravě: Hřbitovní kostel sv. Jiljí ve Svitavech.” Method: časopis věnovany uměni křestanskému 21, no. 6 (1895): 61–62. https://books.google.com/books?id=gzH4zXw9JmwC&pg=PA61.

Lichtenecker, E. “Zwittau und die Prämonstratenser von Leitomischl.” Schönhengster Jahrbuch, 1965, 34–36.

Image Credit

The former monastic church, 2016. Wikimedia.

Files

Collection

Bohemia and Moravia

Citation

“Svitavy,” A Premonstratensian Atlas, accessed October 16, 2026, https://yvonneseale.org/atlas/items/show/682.

Geolocation

Item Relations

This Item DependentOn Item: Litomyšl