St. Agnes of Bohemia - Premyslid was probably born on January 20th, 1205, a daughter of the Czech King Premyslid Ottakar I and his wife Constancie (the date of her birth differs in various sources, but between 1205 and 1211).
She was very well educated for her time. She was raised at the Doksany and Trebechovice convents and became engaged to the German King Henry at the Viennese court.
However, because of political reasons, no wedding took place with Henry.
St. Agnes was also corted by other noble suitors, including Emperor Frederick II.
Heowever, St. Agnes's brother, King Wenceslas I rejected this marriage proposal on her behalf. He met her demands and gave her some land in Prague, where, in 1234, she founded the convent of St. Francis for a monastic order of Clare nuns.
A legend says that the first five Sisters were sent to this convent by St. Clara, herself, with whom St. Agnes kept in touch by correspondence.
St. Agnes entered the convent together with seven young ladies of significant Bohemian birth and standing and became its first abbess.
A hospital was founded as part of the convent and run by St. Agnes until 1238, when she gave up the post of abbess, although she remained engaged in both hospital and convent until her death on March 2nd, 1282. She didn't shut herself off from the worl while in the convent, as might seem. Throughout her whole life Agnes took care of poor and ill people, including those suffering from leprosy, plague and other horrible Medieval illnesses.
Her kindness and mercy lived in the memories of ordinary people for centuries.
Many stories persist of miracles performed by Agnes. One of them describes how Agnes was once asked by certain knight to help his sick wife. This woman, close to death, had dreamt one night that she could only be cured by an apple given to her by Agnes Premyslid's hand. The knight then went to the convent to ask Agnes to fulfil his wife's wish. Agnes naturally agreed, but because it was winter and all the applies from the convent's garden had been given to the poor, she could ot find an aple in the larder. She went, therefore, to the garden to see if at least one aple had not been forgotten on a tree. However, all was in vain. Sadly, she turned her head to heaven and it seemed to her that at that moment a silver beam flew to the earth from a small piece of blue sky among the grey clouds. Considering to be a sign, she blessed the closest tree and at that moment the miracle occured. The aplle tree's lowest branch was suddenly covered whith leaves among which were three beatiful, ripe apples. Agnes thankes heaven whith a pious prayer, plucked an apple from the tree and took it to the knight. He gave it to his ill wife, who after eating the apple given to her by Agnes, regained her health.
It is no wonder that a number of Czech sovereigns attemted to canonise Agnes, above all, Elizabeth Premyslid and Charles IV. Hoewer, none of them was successful. If was not until 1874 when Agnes was given the title "blessed", and not until November 12th, 1989, when the ardent wish of many generations was fulfilled and she was canonised by Pope John Paul II.
Now it may sounds strange, but on November 17th, 1989 the Velvet Revolution began.
You can see his statue on Vaclavske namesti, when you're looking to the Museum, as a left upper statue in statue of St. Wenceslas.
