Telč and Jesuits, Order and its Patrons

The project aims to bring new findings about the formation of Czech national identity with a new synthetic view revealing a key part of the history of Telč that has not previously been systematically studied. It aims to explore new ways to create access to the sources of Czech national and cultural identity, change the ways it is viewed and develop a method to record reports of its physical evidence. Telč became a prominent regional centre of baroque culture under the influence of Jesuits. The Jesuit College in Telč, its relationship with the founders and the link it had with the city provide a unique opportunity to study both the character and the interaction of these three actors. Gathering data from existing sources, analysing and interpreting them will initiate in-depth research that will make it possible to apply the acquired knowledge and develop a methodology to record reports of material cultural evidence. This, in turn, will provide an effective tool of unified data documentation and usage. The project will reveal the context, meanings and fate of the Telč Jesuit community active in the city for more than one hundred years including the strategies and reflection of its self-presentation. The results will be presented by means of a specialised map with expert content and in the accompanying events accessible to both specialists and the wider public. An edition of selected narrative sources and a monograph will be published. The knowledge of the order's spiritual and cultural activities, personalities and benefactors in Telč and the methodology will be used to organise an exhibition. This exhibition will familiarise the public with the Jesuit community in the context of the city, the intentions of the founders and the emergence and disappearance of local traditions. An attempt to bridge the gap between scholarly discourse and the rooted way to regard cultural heritage connected with Jesuits will also be part of the project.