Teplá Abbey is a Premonstratensian abbey in the western part of Bohemia, included in the Archdiocese of Prague. It was founded in 1193 by the blessed Hroznata, a Bohemian nobleman (d. 1217). The first monks came from the Abbey of Strahov in Prague.
The present monastery building was erected by Abbot Raimund Wilfert II (1688-1724); the library was built by Abbot Gilbert Helmer (since 1900). The Romanesque church, with additions in the style of the transition to the Gothic, is one of the oldest churches of Bohemia. The high altar of the church was sculpted by Josef Lauermann and Ignatius Platzer in 1750. After Hroznata was beatified in 1897, his reliquary casket was moved to the apse of the church for display. The original burial place of Hroznata is marked by on the floor before the main altar, where his original sarcophagus also stands.
Plenteous monastery activity is shown in the literature that is defined by its rich collection of prints of different nature in the monastic library.
House of the Blackheads (Melngalvju nams) is a building situated in the old town of Riga. The original building was erected during the first third of the 14th century for the Brotherhood of Blackheads, a guild for unmarried German merchants in Riga. Major works were done in the years 1580 and 1886, adding most of the ornaments.
The structure was bombed to a ruin by the Germans June 28, 1941 and the remains demolished by the Soviets in 1948. The current reconstruction was erected from 1995 to 1999. Today the House of Blackheads serves as a museum and sometimes concert hall.