SAINT THOMAS ABBEY AND THE MENDELIANUM

St. Thomas Abbey is built in an area where Brno's oldest foundations have been found. The present Gothic church, dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, was built in 1323 as the main building of a Cistercian monastery. The museum pays tribute to the work of the monk-researcher Gregor Johann Mendel (1822-1884), who conducted his experiments on peas here, making him (only after his death) the founding father of the theory of heredity and the most important precursor of genetics. The complex also includes an experimental garden and a cultural center. In 2022, to mark the bicentenary of the researcher's birth, a comprehensive exhibition on his work was inaugurated in the abbey, presenting it in a playful and interactive way. Facsimiles, photographs, enlarged microscope views and hands-on workshops provide an insight into the workings of dominant and recessive genes and, above all, how they are passed on from one generation to the next, something Mendel discovered in his own time.

The architecture of this abbey is unique in Moravia, and its grey bricks are unusual to say the least. Inside, don't miss the Baroque altar (1762), the giant late-Gothic chandelier and the gold-plated tabernacle. The basilica is also home to the country's oldest (^13th century) wood painting, depicting a highly venerated black Madonna (Černá Madona).

Adjacent to the museum dedicated to Mendel, you can also visit the abbey's brand-new museum, which opened in early 2022. It offers a complete tour of the Augustinian abbey, including the Baroque library with its 4,000 books (a further 23,000 are hidden in secret passages!), followed by the abbey treasury and its magnificent liturgical artefacts. The tour continues with a complete collection of well-preserved tunics and religious vestments from various periods. One room will of course be dedicated to Mendel, but will leave aside his discoveries, well detailed in the museum dedicated to him, to focus instead on the research of his time and his life in the abbey, with numerous personal objects in support. Among the beautiful pieces on display is a Rubens, which belongs to the Augustinian order and was previously exhibited in Prague. A fascinating exhibition.