Dominican monastery of Thorn
The monastery of St. Nicholas was a monastery of the Dominican Order in Thorn , now Toruń, in Prussia from 1263 to 1820.
location
The monastery was in the northwest corner of the new town by the city wall on the Mokra River near the northern city gate. Remnants of the foundation wall and cellar have been preserved from the Church of St. Nikolai and the monastery buildings. Today there are reconstructed foundations of the church and a chapel on Plac dominikański.
history
In 1263, the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, Hanno von Sangerhausen, founded a Dominican monastery in the emerging New Town of Thorn (1264 town charter). There was already a Franciscan monastery in the old town . It received rights of use in all waters in the area, later also some land and other foundations and donations by knights and citizens.
The church was replaced by a new building in 1334/43. In 1431 the monks had to leave the city for a short time. In the 16th century the church and monastery remained the only Catholic places in the old and new town of Thorn. In 1657 the facility was badly damaged by Swedish troops during the Thirty Years' War, more times around 1703 and around 1807/13.
In 1820 the monastery was closed by the Prussian authorities. The monks had to move to the Kulm monastery . The monastery buildings were demolished that same year. There were buildings for the new Thorn Fortress, including a prison. The church was closed in 1830 and demolished in 1834.
In the 1980s and 1993 to 1995 archaeological excavations took place, during which foundation walls and cellars were exposed. From 2017 to 2018, the original floor plan of the church was made visible through a low wall plinth.
St. Nikolai Church
With a length of 72 meters, a width of 30 meters, a vault height of 30 meters, a roof height of 38 meters and a roof ridge height of 49 meters, the Nikolaikirche was the tallest church in the city and the largest next to St. Mary's Church . It had a side aisle with several chapels.
Inside there were over 18 altars, two organs, numerous epitaphs and grave slabs of nobles from the Kulmerland and other works of art. After the closure in 1830/34, many objects were brought to other churches, especially the Jakobs- and Marienkirche, some are now in the district museum. This important structure was probably demolished because of its Catholic tradition, which was also important for the Polish population in the area. The space was used for the buildings of the new fortress.
literature
- Piotr Oliński, Waldemar Rozynkowski, Juliusz Raczkowski (red.): Klasztor dominikański w Toruniu. W 750. rocznicę fundacji . Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Mikołaja Kopernika, Toruń 2013
- Lidia Grzeszkiewicz-Kotlewska, Leszek Kotlewski: Kościół dominikański pw. Św. Mikołaja w Toruniu . Regionalny Ośrodek Studiów i Ochrony Dziedzictwa Kulturowego, Toruń 1997. ISBN 83-908459-2-X
- Carl Gotthelf Praetorius , Julius Emil Wernicke : Topographical-historical-statistical description of the city of Thorn. Volume 1. Thorn 1832. pp. 158–160 , on the Nikolaikirche pp. 148–151.
Web links
- History of the monastery and Nikolaikirche Turystika Toruń, with historical representations and current photos (Polish)
- History of the Toruń Monastery and Church Tour, with historical representations and photos (Polish)
Coordinates: 53 ° 0 ′ 44.2 " N , 18 ° 36 ′ 24.3" E