Poor Clare Monastery of St. Klara (Nuremberg)

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St. Klara (Nuremberg) , the surviving monastery church of the convent

The Poor Clare Monastery of St. Klara is a former monastery of the Poor Clares in Nuremberg in the diocese of Bamberg . It was founded by Magdalenese women in the first half of the 13th century and existed until the Reformation . In 1525 the monastery was forbidden to accept novices, so it was dissolved in 1596 with the death of the last nun.

Most of the buildings in the monastery were demolished at the end of the 19th century, only the former monastery church of St. Klara and the so-called "silver tower" are still preserved today.

history

Magdalen convent

The monastery was probably founded in the 1230s by the Magdalene nuns (popularly known as Reuerinnen ). It was first mentioned in a document in a promise of indulgence to its founder from 1241.

The complex was originally located in front of the city ​​walls of Nuremberg, only the later expansion of the fortifications included the complex in the city. The nearby Frauentor takes its name from the monastery, which originally extended over the entire area between Klaragasse, Sterngasse, Vorderen Sterngasse and Königstraße.

In the fifth decade of the 13th century, the construction of a monastery church began ; construction work is first documented for 1246. In the period from 1270 to 1274 the church was expanded or renewed, the new choir of the building was consecrated in 1274.

Poor Clare Monastery

St. Klara, Nuremberg

In 1274, by resolution of the 2nd Council of Lyon, all mendicant orders founded after 1215 were repealed, including the order of the Magdalen Sisters. The convents had to join other orders. While the majority of the northern German monasteries joined the Augustinian nuns , the southern German monasteries turned to the Poor Clares or the Dominican nuns . In the Nuremberg monastery an attempt was made to take a special route: It was suggested that the previous rule of the order be retained under the supervision of local Franciscans . However, this request was rejected, at the behest of Pope Nicholas III. The convent joined the Order of the Poor Clares in 1279.

A few years later the church, the cloister and the cemetery were rebuilt and consecrated in 1339. The monastery community consisted mainly of Nuremberg citizens and members of the patriciate .

Nuns cemetery behind the church; left (with plaque) the former grave of Abbess Caritas Pirckheimer. (Her remains were reburied in the church in 1960.)
Current burial place of Caritas Pirckheimer, in the choir of the Klarakirche

The city council pushed through the introduction of observance in the monastery in 1452 , which became the starting point for its introduction in other Poor Clare monasteries.

reformation

After the Nuremberg Religious Discussion of 1525, the Inner Council appointed the Protestant preachers Andreas Osiander , Johannes Poliander and others. Together with the monastery caretaker Kaspar Vorteilel and their own families, they tried to force the teachings of Martin Luther on the nuns .

The coercion failed mainly because of the resistance of Caritas Pirckheimer , probably the most famous abbess of the monastery. Despite her vehement action against the Protestant council of the city of Nuremberg, she was ultimately unable to prevent the end of the Poor Clare monastery. After the mediation of Philipp Melanchthon , the pressure was given up, but novices were no longer allowed to be admitted, although the convent remained in existence until the death of the last Clare.

The monastery and its manor was secularized in the course of the Reformation and administered from 1574 to 1806 by the specially created Klaraamt. After the death of the last nun in 1591, the monastery was initially used as an apartment for pastor widows, from 1618 as a pawnshop and demolished in 1892. The monastery church and the "silver tower" to the north in Königstrasse 66 were the only buildings that remained . The church served as a Protestant house of worship until 1806, later as a warehouse. It has been a Catholic church since 1857 and today, along with the Frauenkirche and Elisabethkirche, is one of the Catholic inner-city churches in Nuremberg.

Caritas Pirckheimer House

The Caritas Pirckheimer Haus in Klaragasse was built in 1961 on the former monastery grounds north of the Klarakirche. The name was chosen based on the grave of Caritas Pirkheimer found at this point in 1959. Originally opened as a youth leisure center for the southern German Jesuits , the Academy of the Archdiocese of Bamberg has also been housed in the building since 1971 . The CPH also serves as a center for church adult education and youth work.

Open Church of St. Clare

The Poor Clare Church, built around 1240 on the monastery grounds, is today the seat of the Catholic City Pastoral Care. As the “Open Church of St. Clare”, it offers classic catholic activities (evening mass at 5.45 p.m. every weekday) and open forms of celebration for people who are more distant and seeking meaning from the church. Various regular mourning offers, culture with depth and political devotions are an integral part of the program. The Klarakirche was completely renovated in 2007 and redesigned for the needs of a city ​​church . The nave exudes calm and clarity and is now a “space for the soul” that invites you to pause in the hustle and bustle of the city.

See also

Remarks

  1. ↑ a b Kammel: Hidden Beauty , page 9
  2. ↑ May: The Klarakirche , page 41
  3. ↑ Nuremberg city map from 1630
  4. ↑ Kammel: Hidden Beauty , page 9
  5. ↑ Open Church of St. Clare
  6. ↑ Pictures of the Klarakirche and the former monastery
  7. ^ Caritas Pirckheimer Haus

literature

  • Alfred Wendehorst : Klarakloster . In: Michael Diefenbacher , Rudolf Endres (Hrsg.): Stadtlexikon Nürnberg . 2nd, improved edition. W. Tümmels Verlag, Nuremberg 2000, ISBN 3-921590-69-8 ( online ).
  • Frank Matthias Kammel : Hidden Beauty. Late Gothic treasures from the Klarakirche in Nuremberg. Catalog for the exhibition in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum . Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg 2007, ISBN 978-3-936688-26-9 .
  • Andreas Puchta, Nadja Bennewitz, Karl Kern: Nuremberg St. Klara, branch church of the Frauenkirche. Schnell & Steiner Art Guide No. 1518 . 4th edition. Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg 2000, ISBN 3-7954-5224-4 .
  • Herbert May: The Klarakirche. History of construction and use . In: City of Nuremberg, Building Department - Lower Monument Protection Authority (ed.): Places of contemplation - places of prayer. Short guide to the Open Monument Day 2007 . tape 1 : Churches within the old town. Nuremberg 2007.
  • Herbert May: The Klarakirche. History of construction and use . In: City of Nuremberg, Building Department - Lower Monument Protection Authority (ed.): Places of contemplation - places of prayer. Short guide to the Open Monument Day 2007 . tape 1 : Churches within the old town. Nuremberg 2007.
  • Sarah-Yasemin Stefanic: Dimensions of the eye and the gaze in the early modern age. Investigations in the context of the Poor Clare Monastery in Nuremberg . Munich 2014.
  • Georg Wolfgang Karl Lochner : Letters from Felicitas landlady, nun of St. Clare in Nuremberg, between 1509 and 1529. In: Historical-political papers for Catholic Germany. Volume 44, 1859, pp. 378-395 and 441-469.

Web links

Coordinates: 49 ° 26 ′ 55 ″  N , 11 ° 4 ′ 46 ″  E