In the lands of the Czech Crown, the oldest monasteries and convents were established as early as the 10th century – in the 970s, a convent for Benedictine nuns at the Church of St. George in Prague Castle, and, around 993, a Benedictine monastery in Břevnov.

From the second half of the 11th century and during the 12th century, newly founded orders of monks, religious canons, knightly orders and, later in the 13th century, mendicant orders began to penetrate the Czech lands. In the 12th century, the Premonstratensians and Cistercians, who were brought to our territory by the Olomouc bishop and diplomat of European stature Jindřich Zdík (about 1083–1150), were the most important ones.

The Hussite wars significantly threatened the development of monasteries and convents in the 15th century.

Medieval monasteries were primarily centres of education (library studies, study rooms and book copying), while convents served mainly as places for educating young girls from noble and wealthy families.

In the town of Lubiąż, Lubuš in Czech, there is the oldest Cistercian monastery in Silesia (Opactwo Cysterskie w Lubiążu), which is nicknamed the Silesian Escorial. It was founded in the 12th century and is located in a forest landscape on the banks of the Odra River. The first Cistercian monks came to Lubuš at the invitation of Prince Boleslav I the Tall, allegedly on August 16, 1163, from Pforta in Germany (today Saxony-Anhalt), but the prince's deed of donation dates back to 1175. The monastery experienced its greatest cultural and economic heyday in the 14th century when it was the centre of the development of Silesian literature and science not only in Silesia but in the entire area from Greater Poland to Lesser Poland. This development was interrupted between 1428 and 1432 by the Hussite Wars, which marked the beginning of a period of decline that lasted until 1492. During the entire 16th century, several attempts were made to restore the monastery's past glory, but this was only achieved after the end of the Thirty Years' War thanks to two important abbots, Arnold Freiberger (1632–1672) and Jan Reich (1672–1691).

The oldest monastery in Czech Silesia was probably the Premonstratensian Provostship in Oldřišov (Opava district), founded at the end of the 12th century (the activity ended in the 16th century – 1531). 

Bolatice

The provostship of the Velehrad Cistercians in Bolatice is first documented in 1250. It ceased to exist in 1784.

Krnov

The Minorite Monastery – according to tradition, the Czech King Přemysl Otakar II introduced Minorities to Krnov in 1273.

The Headquarters of the Teutonic Order – the establishment of the headquarters is associated with Nicolas I of Opava, after his return from Hungarian captivity on September 19, 1281, when he donated the right to the parish church in Krnov to the Order. Its demise is connected with the Reformation around 1523.

Opava

The Minorite Monastery in Opava – the monastery is first documented on April 3, 1250, when Margrave Přemysl Otakar II provided the Minorites with part of his own Opava land between the Cattle Market and the city walls (today's Masarykova Street) for its construction. Nicholas II decided to establish a new ancestral burial ground for the last legitimate line of the Přemyslids in the Minorite Church. After his death, he was buried there in 1365. The chancel and the tomb were probably completed in 1362 when the Minorites received the privilege of Nicholas II. The last of the Přemyslids buried in the Minorite Monastery in Opava was the son and grandson of Nicholas II, Duke Ernest of Opava and Münsterberg, whose remains were not placed in the family tomb until in 1485.

The Dominican Monastery in Opava – the monastery was founded on September 1, 1291, by Opava prince Nicolas I of Opava in the northern part of the city near the city walls; he donated the Přerovec nad Štítinou forests to the clergy. After 1300, the construction of the monastery church of St. Wenceslas was started (however, it was not consecrated until November 1, 1336). The monastery was abolished in 1786.

The headquarters and provostship of the Teutonic Order – Opava, together with St. Peter's Church in Prague, represented the oldest domain of the Order in the Czech lands. The knights have been associated with Opava since 1204.

The Convent of the Poor Clares – the order was introduced to Opava in 1302 when King Wenceslas II donated his house near the Minorite Monastery intended for the construction of the convent to them. The convent ceased to exist in 1783.

The Johannite Headquarters – the order came to Opava in 1333. The Headquarters was built between 1358 and 1376 near the hospital of St. Nicholas, in front of the eastern segment of the walls.

The Franciscans Monastery – in 1451 Duke Vilém of Opava and Münsterberg advocated for the establishment of a monastery. The monastery was established in what was then a suburb of Opava, in the area between the castle, the bridge over the Opava River and the millstream. The monastery finally disappeared during the Danish invasion in 1626, when it was set on fire and burned down.

The Franciscans Convent – the convent was founded in 1469, in close proximity to the monastery near the church of St. Barbara. It disappeared with the commencement of the Lutheran Reformation.