Jesuit College in the Czech Republic, resort Kutna Hora
Rating: 8,5/10 (376 votes)  In 1624, Ferdinand II of Habsburg issued a decree on the construction of a Jesuit college in the town of Kutna Hora. The arrival of the Jesuits in the city took place in 1626, their goal was to re-Catholicize the population of Kutna Hora and its surrounding areas. The construction of the Jesuit college was planned with the aim of educating young people in the Catholic faith. However, the start of construction was delayed for many years. Initially, there was a problem with the choice of location. In April 1633, the location was determined according to the imperial decree. It was decided to build the college not in the central part of the city, but on the territory between the Cathedral of St. Barbara and Hradek, next to the chapel of the Corpus Christi, outside of Kutna Hora. Since the building was planned to be large, it was necessary to buy up several houses with their subsequent demolition, which added additional costs to the construction. The construction of the college was entrusted to the Italian architect Giovanni Dominico Orsi. The preparatory work and the collection of funds necessary for the construction took quite a long time. In May 1667, the foundation stone of the building was laid. But in the end, due to a lack of funds, the construction of the college was delayed again. In 1678, the eastern and northern wings of the building were built, the construction of the southern wing was also planned, but in the end it failed to implement. It was originally planned to build an E-shaped building, but due to the absence of a southern wing, it took the form of the letter F, which was presented as a structure built in honor of Ferdinand II. At the same time, the arrangement of a terrace reminiscent of Prague's Charles Bridge was completed ... On one side, the terrace was decorated with sculptural compositions of twelve Jesuit saints and railings. The sculptures were created by Frantisek Baugut. The most recent addition to the building was the central wing with a refectory. The wing was very different from the structure planned by Orsi. The wing was completed in 1750. In the 1720s, the building's south tower served as a bell tower for St. Barbara's Cathedral. Three bells dating from 1493 and 1510, were moved from the destroyed bell tower of the cathedral. In 1773, the Jesuit order was abolished by Pope Clement the Fourteenth, in connection with which the college was taken over by the military, and remained with them until 1997. During this period, it housed a barracks, a military educational institution and a hospital. In 1998, the Czech government transferred the Jesuit College to the Czech Museum of Fine Arts. Today, there is a collection of contemporary art, as well as an exhibition of animated films.   
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