The work deals with the history of the Cistercian Order in Vyšší Brod in the first half of the 20th century. It gives an account of political and religious events of those times and also reminds important milestones from the turn of the 18th and 19th century which influenced the 20th century {--} in particular the religious reforms carried out by Josef II and his closing down some monasteries. Founding the Diocese of České Budějovice counts among the positive acts of this emperor. The work also describes the impact of the two World Wars. Compulsory transfer of Germans after the World War Two and following fourty years lasting religious infringement strongly affected the life of the Cistercian Monastery in Vyšší Brod. Thanks to the newly gained liberty in November 1989 the life in the monastery could be renewed. Two monks came back to the monastery, both survived the time when the communists were in power, the older one also lived through the Nazi totalitarian system. New monastic life candidates came to the monastery, at present there are seven monks living there.

The present thesis focuses at analysing the development of the Cistercian monastery in Plasy during the Baroque period, as well the monastery festivities, which belonged among important events of the monastery's everyday life, being an inseparable part of routine within the renewed monastery structure and new sacral foundations. The thesis is structured into five chapters, each analysing a particular part of the present topic. The first chapter maps the spiritual and social development of the Cistercian Order and its activities in the Czech Lands, and describes the specifics of the Order liturgy. The adoration of Our Lady has been an inseparable part of the Cistercian devotion and, as such, has become the topic of one of the chapters of the present thesis. Plasy monastery's abbots, the elected superiors of the order, were closely tied to the renewal of the monastery, applying their artistic ambitions to the reconstruction. The major focus of the whole thesis is set on the linkage of primary sources to the individual aspects of life of the Order, such as the Order liturgy, the issue of the foundation stones, or the apotheosis of the newly built structures by Giovanni Battista Santini-Aichel. The concluding chapter summarizes and evaluates the outcomes of the thesis. The present theses could not have...