#186 Czech Republic...Thanks Miroslav!

The 17kc stamp was issued in 2004 for Brno 2005 Philatelic Exhibition showing Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary,Brno.

In 1240 a convent was established by Oldřich Niger, a Brno townsman. This became redundant in 1578 and its premises were taken over by the Jesuits. The medieval convent was replaced by an extensive and architecturally simple collection of residential buildings, but following the dissolution of the order in 1773, a long-term use for the site could not be found and it was demolished in 1904. Only the portal remains, and this is preserved on Mozart Street between the church and the so-called Býlí dům, a modern building by Arnošt Weisner dating from 1923. The juxtaposition of the artistically valuable portal dated 1690 and the functionalist building is considered to be highly successful. The mannerist chapel was built from 1598 to 1602 on the site of the gothic church. In the mid 18th century the vaulting was decorated and the original furnishings were added to and the altars were replaced. At the end of the Second World War the church was severely damaged, and was restored from 1945-1952. In 1989 it was returned to the Jesuit order.