King Przemysl Otakar II donated the Broumov bulge to the Brevnov Benedictines in 1213. After the year 1322 Benedictine provostship was originated in Broumov and at the place of the Gothic castle began the construction of the Benedictine monastery. The original monastery church was built in the Gothic style and was devoted to St.Adalbert. In the cause of Hussite wars the monastery was besieged several times, but thanks to the fortifications it never was conquered. The present state is the result of the Baroque reconstruction from the years 1728-1733, realized according to the project by Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer. He is also the author of the interior design – the prelature, the refectory and the library, realized by distinguished artists of Prague Baroque. The Abbot´s Church of St.Adalbert is decorated with the frescoes by Jan Jacob Steinfels, depicting the life of St.Adalbert, the altar paintings by Vaclav Vavrinec Reiner and the sculptures by Vaclav Matej Jäckl. The monastery Gymnasium played a significant role in the pre-Hussite times. The first Prague archbishop Arnost of Pardubice, the famous priest and patriot Bohuslav Balbín, or writer Alois Jirasek studied here. After the Second World War the German monks were partly evacuated and settled in the Bavarian Rohr, the remaining monks had to leave the monastery. Since 1950 the monastery functioned as the concentration camp for priests and friars of various orders. It was one of numerous prisons established by the communists for that purpose. In 1990 the monastery was given back to the Benedictine order, but Benedictine monks do not live there now. There are about twenty in the Czech Republic and their centre is in Prague Brevnov. In the future the place should turn into the nunnery for the Benedictine nuns.
Nowadays the complex is open to the public. During the excursion we can see the unique replica of the Tourine canvas from the year 1651. The Vamberec mummies of the monks, organ-players, burghers and other important personalities are buried in the underground of the monastery. The exposition continues via the church , sacristy with precious inlayed furniture and refectory, where is the exposition of chasubles. One of them is decorated with Czech garnets. There is a large library with 17 000 books, the exposition of old prints, first of all the Bibles, and the abbot´s gallery with paintings by Peter Brandl and Molitor.
