Sirotčinec sv. Jana Křtitele a změny v péči o sirotky v 18. století

St John the Baptist Orphanage and Changes in Orphan Care in the 18th Century. This paper looks at the care of orphans and the new welfare institutions that emerged in the second half of the 18th century. It traces changes in social care provision and its gradual transfer to local municipal authorities, and the rationale behind institutional care and support for the poor. Specifically, it focuses on the St John the Baptist Orphanage in Prague, which had the patronage of Maria Theresa. In the 18th and 19th centuries orphanages were few and far between, chiefly because of the high costs involved. Mostly they were founded by larger municipalities, benevolent societies or individuals. The St John the Baptist Orphanage differed not only in its founders – the Freemasons – but in its teachers, who were initially members of the Masonic Lodge, and it provided a good education by the standards of the day. The paper considers how the orphanage selected its charges and how it looked after them.