Abensberg Carmelite Monastery

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Historical view of the former Carmelite monastery
Exterior view of the former monastery church
Interior view of the former monastery church
High altar
pulpit

The Abensberg Monastery is a former Carmelite monastery in Abensberg in Bavaria in the Diocese of Regensburg .

history

The Abensberg monastery with the monastery church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel was founded on March 27, 1389 by Count Johannes II. Von Abensberg and his wife Agnes von Lichtenstein, the “White Brothers”, as the Carmelites were called at the time. On December 20, 1390, Pope Boniface IX. the foundation of the monastery, on September 7th 1391 the approval of the Regensburg bishop Johann takes place . The final donation was officially made on April 7, 1392.

The monastery buildings were badly damaged in the Thirty Years' War . The foundation stone for the new building was not laid until April 2, 1686. In the course of secularization , the entire property of the monastery was confiscated. On March 30, 1802, the convent , 24 fathers and seven brothers , was expelled. They found a new home in the Carmelite Monastery of Straubing . Large parts of the monastery inventory were destroyed or looted, and some of the books from the library were used to pave the way.

1853/ 54 tried the Straubinger Prior Cyril Knoll to colonize the Abensberger Monastery again with monks, but failed due to the negative attitude of the Regensburg Bishop Valentin Riedel .

The former monastery church was used as a prisoner of war camp during the Battle of Abensberg in 1809 , and later as a warehouse. It was not used again for church services until 1817. In 1839 the church passed as property to the city of Abensberg. In 1939 it was transferred back to the parish of St. Barbara. In April 1945 the roof structure and all windows were destroyed by several artillery shells. Then the church was renovated in several steps; in 1989, 600 years after the foundation and 50 years after its transfer to the parish, the work was essentially complete. Finally, the monastery church received a new organ that was fitted into the existing old case; However, this has been moved a little to the front in order to create space for additional registers behind it . The extensive gardens to the south of the monastery buildings were built over. The former monastery brewery served as a prison until the 1930s.

The main part of the actual monastery building housed the city hospital from 1817 to 1954. Today the event rooms of the Aventinum , which is named after Johannes Aventinus , as well as the adult education center and a dental practice are located here . Another part of the building complex served as a printing shop until 2004 and, after the renovation, houses the Office for Food, Agriculture and Forests . Every year, storks can be seen breeding on the roof of the monastery.

Monastery church

The exact time of the start of construction is no longer known today, but it should have been between 1389 and 1392. In any case, an altar consecration is documented for the year 1442 . The gothic monastery church originally had a flat wooden ceiling, which was renewed and painted in 1614 at the instigation of Duke Wilhelm the Pious (who had already died at that time) . In 1691 the floor was filled and raised. In 1673 the organ loft was added at the west end of the nave, and in 1697 the Joseph Chapel on the south side. The most profound redesign of the church took place from 1710 to 1712. The plans for this came from the Franciscan Fr. Philipp Blank ; The builder was Andreas Haisinger from Straubing , the brother of the Abensberg prior Ambrosius. The interior was painted by Jakob Schlemmer from Kelheim . The high altar was moved from its original location at the east end of the choir towards the nave to create space for a sacristy and a prayer room for the brothers above.

The wooden ceiling was replaced by a barrel vault . The rest of the interior was also subsequently changed to Baroque style . The current high altar dates from 1717, several side altars from 1715 and 1719 and the pulpit from around 1720. In 1712 the church also received a richly decorated organ, of which only the original case is preserved. The windows of the monastery church are made of clear glass today; It is no longer possible to determine whether they were previously made using glass painting . Instead of a separate tower, the church only has a roof turret . This was originally hexagonal with a point, but was later given a dome. In 1860 it was replaced by a square tower. Today the church has an octagonal version with an onion-shaped dome.

Cloister

While the monastery church was not completed until the middle of the 15th century, the cloister dates from the 14th century. The almost square complex surrounds one of two inner courtyards, is located immediately to the south of the monastery church and is accessible from the right side chapel. The cloister has high pointed arch windows facing the inner courtyard. During the last renovation in 2003, these windows were glazed in order to prevent moisture-related damage in the cloister in future. In addition, a fresco with the oldest known cityscape of Abensberg was discovered during this renovation .

Between 2005 and 2015, the monochrome glazing of 15 windows was replaced by colored glass pictures, the motifs of which are related to the history of Abensberg. They show various coats of arms in the north wing of the cloister, Abensberg churches in the west wing, figures of saints in the south wing and scenes from Abensberg history in the east wing. All windows were designed by the Abensberg artist Johannes Rohen and made by the Regensburg glass painting company Schwarzmayr.

Since 1468 the Abensberg counts no longer had their family burial place in the Rohr monastery , but in the Antonius chapel, which was located south of the Abensberg monastery church. The funerary monuments were later transferred to the north wing of the cloister. Since the secularization, the cloister, as well as large parts of the other monastery buildings, has been owned by the city. The fire extinguishers were stored here for decades. The cloister and inner courtyard are currently used as a location for various events, including concerts and receptions.

The Aventinus Museum was housed above the cloister from 1963 until the renovation in 2002, which, among other things, commemorated the city's most famous son, the later Bavarian historian Johannes Aventinus . Since July 7, 2006, the completely redesigned museum has been located as the Abensberg City Museum in the Herzogskasten , which was built around 1450. The rooms above the cloister have been used as a museum depot since then. The tomb of Aventinus' teacher, Father Jodocus Berndorfer († 1500), is located in the monastery church next to the entrance to the Chapel of Our Lady of Sorrows . In the cloister is also the entrance to the crypt for the deceased brothers of the monastery. It can be viewed as part of the Abensberg cellar tours.

literature

  • Dehio Bayern II: Niederbayern, pp. 1–7
  • Adam Rottler: Abensberg through the ages , self-published, Abensberg 1972
  • Catholic rectory of St. Barbara Abensberg (ed.): 600 years of the Carmelite Church Abensberg 1389–1989 (Festschrift), Abensberg 1989
  • Maximilian Georg Kroiss: Economic conduct in the mendicant order, illustrated using the example of the shod Carmelites in Abensberg in the 18th century , Abensberg 1993
  • Registration application for the designation of origin "Abensberger Spargel", Official Journal of the European Union of February 24, 2012, C 55/27: Maximilian Georg Kroiss shows the economic conduct of the mendicant order of the shod Carmelites that asparagus was probably already in the year 1730 Abensberg region was cultivated. This application was approved on November 8, 2012.
  • Maximilian Georg Kroiß: The court of the Abensberg Carmelites in Arnhofen , in: Parish Pullach (ed.), A look through the centuries , Pullach 1995
  • Maximilian Georg Kroiß: Pilgrimages from the Carmelite Court in Arnhofen , in: Hans-Josef Bösl, Maximilian Georg Kroiß (ed.), 500 years of parish pilgrimage Abensberg-Bettbrunn , Abensberger Hefte 2, Abensberg 1997
  • Maximilian Georg Kroiss: The Abensberg crib, a gift from the pastor Johann Monifelder , in: Thomas Huber, Die Abensberger Jahreskrippe, legacy and order , Abensberger Hefte 4, Abensberg 1999
  • Maximilian Georg Kroiss: The late Gothic frescoes in the Carmelite Church of Abensberg, representation and meaning of communion under both kinds, special edition from contributions to the history of the diocese of Regensburg, volume 40-2006
  • Maximilian Georg Kroiss: The Income and Expenditures of the Abensberg Carmelite Monastery in the 18th Century, A Contribution to the History of the Begging Order , in: Heidemarie Specht and Ralph Andraschek-Holzer (eds.), Begging Orders in Central European History, Art, Spirituality , Lectures from the eponymous conference from 19 to 22 March 2007 in St. Pölten (= contributions to the church history of Lower Austria 15, historical supplements to the St. Pölten Diocesan Gazette 32) St. Pölten 2008
  • Maximilian Georg Kroiß: Abensberg Carmelite Monastery , in: Edeltraud Klueting, Stephan Panzer and Andreas H. Scholten (eds.), Monasticon Carmelitanum. The monasteries of the Carmelite Order (O.Carm.) In Germany from the beginning to the present , Münster 2012
  • Joseph R. Schuegraf: The camelite monastery in Abensberg , 1861 ( E-copy ).

Web links

Commons : Karmelitenkloster Abensberg  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Ingo Knott: History in the cloister on the website of the city of Abensberg, March 29, 2016
  2. ↑ Wolfgang Abeltshauser: The last window is installed , MZ online , December 7, 2015
  3. ↑ Official Journal of the European Union of November 8, 2012 L 308/3

Coordinates: 48 ° 48 ′ 57.3 "  N , 11 ° 50 ′ 42.8"  E