The will of the Rumburk estate owner, Count Franz Eusebius of Pötting, from the year 1662 was an impulse to build a Capuchin monastery in Rumburk. In his will he ordered his heir under the threat of property loss to build a Capuchin monastery for 12 monks “to thank God for the affluence”. He didn’t forget to mention in his will to purchase a rich library and to order an altarpiece for the monastery church from Spain. His cousin, Johann Sebastian of Pötting, the council of the court chamber, became the heir in 1679 and immediately began the preparation for the construction. Two years later he sold the estate to Prince Anton Florian of Liechtenstein together with his commitment.

Initial construction took place in the years 1683-1685 according to the plans by architect P. Georgi Monacensi of Munich. The St. Lawrence Church was consecrated by the bishop of Litomerice Jaroslav Ignaz, Count von Sternberg, on the 9th of April 1690. The foundation of the Capuchin Monastery at the St. Lawrence Church has enriched the spiritual life in Rumburk and its neighbourhood.

The Capuchins lived in Rumburk for less than 300 years – from the foundation of the monastery until its abolition in 1950. It was violently destroyed by the former State Security under the “Action K” plan, along with all the other male monasteries in Czechoslovakia.

After the violent destruction of the monastery the St. Lawrence Church was used by the Czechoslovak Church and the Orthodox Church. Since 1957 it has become a Catholic Church again. The Rumburk City Library has been located in the building of the monastery since 1994.