A Romanesque church of the Virgin Mary used to stand there at first. In a written document from 1210, the church is mentioned for the first time. Elizabeth Richeza, the Czech queen, had a new Gothic church built instead of the old one in the first half of the 14th century. In 1323, she founded a Cistercian monastery next to the church. The Augustinian order took over the church and the monastery at the end of the 18th century. Baroque interior modifications are dated to that time. Inside of the church, you can see The Palladium of the City of Brno – St. Thomas´s icon of St. Virgin Mary. You can find this precious picture in the centre of the main Silver Altar. In 1987, the church was promoted to the rank of basilica minor by the pope John Paul II.