The temple is rightly called a gem of gothic architecture of Lands of Bohemian crown. In 1323 the double queen - royal widow Elizabeth Richeza founded a Cistercian convent called Aulae Sanctae Mariae beside to the oldest pre romanesque parisch church of Oure Lady in Old Brno. After her death in 1335 Elizabeth Richeza found her final resting burial place in the basilica. The spot is marked by the letter „E“ with a small crown carved in the paving of the church. In the 18th century, the interior of the church was rebuilt in the baroque style. That period also witnessed the finishing of the Baroque buildings of the Abbey. In the 1783 the Austrian Emperor Joseph II closter abbey Old Brno was dissolved and ordened the Augustinians to move to Old Brno from their original monastery of St. Thomas was situated in front of Běhounská Gate, later Lažansky square. The Augustinians also had a glourious „silver altar“ in baldachin form made in Augsburg and erected when the icon of the Black Madonna was crovned in 1736. At the Feastof the assumption of Our Lady a pilgrimage is held every year in the basilica to worhip her as the Protector of the city of Brno. The abbey church was promoted in 1987 by John Paul II to the rank of a Minor Basilica
Architecture
The abbey church is of typical Cistercian architecture, built in the Gothic style - cruciform layout - main nave, transept and two side aisles. The nave and its flanking aisles have a vaulted by rib vault. The nave and its transept a vaulted ceiling more than 22 m high. The triple choir consists of the right choir in the east and two side chevettes in cruciform layout. The crossing is separated from the nave by a massive transverse arches. Whole building body have 34 monumental tracery windows, most of them tripled. Nine of them with lancet arch, 14 equilateral arch. The church was primarily constructed as fair facedbrick work, the first brick Gothic building in the region but using also stone from the local area - Stránská skála quarry – crinoidlimestone. The building has an inside length of 67,45 metres, width 28,4 metres and a height to the ceiling of 23.07 metres. Transept 40 m. Building as typical Cistercian churches have no tower, only one small flèche - on the crossing of central nave and transept. The layout of the basilica consists of one nave and two aisles, with the transept crossing the nave and aisles. South side of the transept have now an entrance.
