Augustinian Canons' Monastery of St. Nikola (Passau)

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The former St. Nicholas monastery

The St. Nikola Abbey is a former monastery of the Augustinian Canons and today's motherhouse of the Teutonic Sisters in Passau .

history

St. Nikola was donated around 1070 (September 30, 1067 according to the donor letter, March 3, 1072 according to the privilege of Pope Alexander II ) by Bishop Altmann von Passau , the former chaplain of Empress Agnes . Soon after it was founded, the monastery got caught up in the turmoil of the investiture dispute and the canons of the monastery were driven out. 1111 the monastery seems to be re-established, as evidenced by a deed of Emperor Henry V is confirmed. With the transfer of bailiwick rights from the Formbacher-Viechtensteiners to the Ortenburgers , who were ousted by the dukes of Bavaria , the Passau bishops lost the monastery to the Bavarian dukes in 1248. In contrast to the prince-bishop's Passau, the monastery complex was on the territory of Bavaria .

The monastery life gave rise to criticism in the 15th century, as was determined in a visit by Nikolaus Cusanus . In the 16th century St. Nikola was seized by the Reformation , the provost Thomas Gunner converted to Luther's teaching , but had to flee to Austria in 1556. It was only in the course of further years that the Counter-Reformation was able to gain a foothold here, which was confirmed by the papal nuncio Ninguarda during his visit in 1581. Since the provost Claudius Aichel (1666–1683), the abbots of the monastery were given the right to wear the miter .

Nikolaihof in Mautern on the Danube
Turmhof, today the town hall of Horn (Lower Austria)

Several parishes were also incorporated into the monastery, namely Aidenbach , Alburg , Hartkirchen , Pocking and Mittich in Bavaria and Alkofen , Grieskirchen , Münichreith , Neukirchen , Wimsbach , Roitham am Traunfall and Pollham in Austria . After the dissolution of the monastery, these became independent parishes, which were mostly still looked after by the canons from St. Nikola. The St. Oswald monastery was looked after for a short time (1431–1563) from St. Nikola, but then handed over to the Benedictines . The last of the former lords, Isidor Alois Reisinger, died on May 8, 1851 in Kirchdorf . The four free courtyards of the monastery in the Habsburg countries were confiscated by the Lower Austrian state property administration and later sold. The most important was probably the Nikolaihof in Mautern on the Danube ; the former Turmhof in Horn now serves as the town hall, as well as the Klosterneuburger Hof in Klosterneuburg and the Freyhof in Aschach an der Donau .

The monastery building had provided a home and workshop for several generations of sculptors in the Baroque period. Among them were u. a. Joseph Matthias Götz and Joseph Deutschmann , for a time the most important sculpture workshop between Munich and Vienna was located here.

architecture

The church was destroyed by an earthquake in 1348. This was followed by a new Gothic building on the old floor plan. A three-aisled late Gothic hall church was built in the north and east of the monastery as well as the former refectory now used as the monastery chapel of the Teutonic women . The tower was built between 1410 and 1420.

The monastery buildings were redesigned in the Baroque style by Carlo Antonio Carlone in 1666 and are grouped around two large courtyards. The interior of the church was redesigned in 1716 by Johann Michael Prunner from Linz and the Passau cathedral chapter bricklayer Jakob Pawanger . The stucco was created by Giovanni Battista d'Allio . The frescoes are by Wolfgang Andreas Heindl from Wels and show the Assumption of Mary in the crossing dome .

Later use

The restored church tower

After the secularization of 1803 and the dissolution of the parish of St. Nikola (the dissolution date was March 21, 1803), the baroque furnishings of the church were sold to the parish church of Vilshofen on the Danube , where it is still located today. The library was divided between the court library in Munich , the university library in Landshut and the high school libraries in Straubing and Passau.

In 1806 the former monastery was claimed by Emperor Napoleon as a military hospital. From 1809 to 1945 soldiers were stationed in the Nikolai barracks (called Somme barracks from 1938 ). The small parade ground opposite , into which the former monastery garden was converted, reminds of this to this day . The church has served as a warehouse for military equipment over the years. The parish of St. Nikola came to Passau on June 3, 1870.

After the Second World War, the building complex served as a refugee camp and later as a specialist academy for social education. From 1972 the University of Passau moved into the south and west wings . The provincial offices of the Teutonic Sisters are housed in the north and east wings . These maintain a specialist academy, a kindergarten and a nursing home. After extensive renovation work between 1978 and 1980, part of the newly founded University of Passau was also housed in the south and west wings of the former monastery.

The city parish of St. Nikola was rebuilt in 1959. The former collegiate church now serves as a parish and university church. Most of the furnishings are modern with works by Wolf Hirtreiter , as well as Gothic paintings and Baroque figures. The tower, which was demolished in 1815 because of dilapidation, was restored from 1990 to 1993.

The Romanesque crypt from 1070 under the choir was restored from 1974 to 1979. It has Gothic frescoes from the 14th century and a Gothic sandstone Madonna, which is an old miraculous image. The altar and the sacrament house by Leopold Hafner are modern.

literature

  • Egon Boshof : History of the St. Nikola Monastery. In: Land Oberösterreich (Ed.): 900 years of Reichersberg Abbey. Augustinian Canons between Passau and Salzburg (pp. 33–43). Upper Austrian Provincial Publishing House , Linz 1984.
  • Gottfried Schäffer: The monastery parishes of St. Nikola. In: Land Oberösterreich (Ed.): 900 years of Reichersberg Abbey. Augustinian Canons between Passau and Salzburg (pp. 45–56). Upper Austrian Provincial Publishing House, Linz 1984.
  • Herbert Schindler: The sculptors of the Augustinian canons of St. Nikola. In: Land Oberösterreich (Ed.): 900 years of Reichersberg Abbey. Augustinian Canons between Passau and Salzburg (pp. 57–66). Upper Austrian Provincial Publishing House, Linz 1984.

Web links

Commons : Augustinerchorherrenstift St. Nikola  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 48 ° 34 ′ 14.8 "  N , 13 ° 27 ′ 26"  E