Augustinian monastery in Konitz

The Augustinian monastery was a settlement of the Augustinian hermits in Konitz (Conitz, Chojnice) in Prussia from 1356 to 1527 and from 1620 to 1819.

location

The monastery was on a peninsula ( Königswerder ) in front of the medieval city wall. The church from 1786/94 has been preserved.

history

Former monastery church from 1794

In 1356 the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order Winrich von Kniprode founded a monastery in Conitz. It was the only one in the city in the Middle Ages and the second of the Augustinian order in the Order of Prussia after Rößel . The first monks came from Stargard . A deed of foundation has been received from 1365. The monastery received foundations and donations, mainly from citizens, including those from Gdansk, and owned small land holdings (meadows, fields). Since 1384 there have been annual pilgrimages to relics of the Holy Cross and Blood of Christ in the monastery church with a promise of indulgence for the faithful. The convention was small, and most likely had fewer than twelve members.

The monastery was abandoned in 1518, after which some monks returned, but left around 1527. In 1555 the church and building were demolished and could not be used by new monks.

The monastery was re-established around 1620. In 1655 eight monks lived here. In 1657 it was badly damaged by Swedish troops and then rebuilt. A new church was built in the 18th century. In 1801 there were eight friars.

In 1819 the monastery was closed by the Prussian authorities, the only remaining monk left the place. The buildings and part of the property were given to the grammar school . The cloister buildings were converted into student apartments and later demolished and replaced with new ones. In the church, a convict was set up on two floors with apartments.

Today it is used by the Catholic High School ( Katolickie Lieceum Ogòlnokształcace im. Romualda Traugutta ) as a school building.

literature

• Hugo Eysenblätter : The monasteries of the Augustinian hermits in northeast Germany . In: Old Prussian monthly. Königsberg 1898. pp. 355-389, here pp. 372-376. PDF
• Adalbero Kunzelmann : The history of the German Augustinian hermits. Volume 5. The Saxon-Thuringian Province and the Saxon Reform Congregation until the downfall of the two. Augustinus-Verlag, Würzburg 1974. 271-272.
• Paweł Piotr Mynarczyk: Zarys dziejów Klasztoru oo. Augustianów Eremitów w Chojnicach (1356–1819) [Outline of the history of the Augustinian Hermits Monastery in Konitz] . Chojnice 2011.
• Rafał Kubicki : Dwa nieznane źródła dotyczące kontaktów konwentu augustianów w Chojnicach z Gdańskiem z 1480 i 1500 r. [Two unknown endowment certificates from contacts between the Augustinian convent in Konitz and Danzig from 1480 to 1500]. In: Zeszyty Chojnickie . No. 30. 2015. pp. 161–168, with further references

Web links

Commons : Former monastery church  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Konwikt Turystyka Chojnice (Polish)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Hugo Eysenblätter : The monasteries of the Augustinian Hermits in northeastern Germany . In: Old Prussian monthly. Königsberg 1898. pp. 355-389, here pp. 372-374. PDF , with a Low German certificate
2. ↑ Rafał Kubicki : Dwa nieznane źródła dotyczące kontaktów konwentu augustianów w Chojnicach z Gdańskiem z 1480 i 1500 r. [Two unknown endowment certificates from contacts between the Augustinian convent in Konitz and Danzig from 1480 to 1500]. In: Zeszyty Chojnickie . No. 30. 2015. pp. 161–168, with two Low German endowment certificates from citizens of Danzig for the monastery
3. ^ August Uppenkamp : History of the City of Konitz . Konitz 1873. pp. 54f., With information on the history since 1518