St. Ursula (Naundorf)

St. Ursula is a place of pilgrimage and pilgrimage of the Schoenstatt Movement and a family vacation home in the Struppen district of Naundorf , run by the Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary . The facility in Saxon Switzerland in the Dresden-Meißen diocese belongs to the Caritas Association .

St. Ursula, named after St. Ursula of Cologne , is located on a mountain slope above the Elbe with a view of the river and the sandstone cliffs and the town of Wehlen, which lies in the narrow valley . The Gothic winged altar and a bronze bell from 1781 are noteworthy . For many Christians in the former GDR, St. Ursula was not just a place to recharge your batteries, to rest and relax, but also had a wide range of educational opportunities.

History of the house

Maria Große, the wife of the managing director of the Reemtsma tobacco factory , bought the country house in Naundorf, which was built around the turn of the century. She lived in the house from August 18, 1923 to September 17, 1941. As a Catholic Jew, she was expropriated by the Nazis and was first imprisoned in Dresden and then in the Theresienstadt concentration camp . She survived the concentration camp and lived penniless in Hamburg after the war until her death in 1955.

In 1992 friends and relatives visited the house to commemorate their children's and youth days. The house was orphaned after the war. The roof was badly damaged in a bombing raid in 1945. Since the ownership structure had not been clarified, there were long negotiations with the Jewish community to get the house for Caritas . Ignatz Bubis , the then chairman of the Central Council of Jews , confirmed the legal acquisition of the property with the house by the Diocese of Dresden-Meißen and the takeover by Caritas in 1951.

Construction of the Caritas rest home

The first business manager was Mrs. Lange. On January 18, 1955, the house was handed over to the Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary for management. In the first few years, Caritas used the house for mothers and families to relax. The state looked at the Christian-run rest home with suspicion. The sisters reported manipulations that were supposed to disrupt life in the Caritas house. It is thanks to your carefulness that there never were any major problems. Even in the early years there were plans for a new ward block to meet the great demand. Sister Ignatia, the first superior, and Sister Engelfriede set up a pavilion in the forest as a chapel. This small forest chapel serves as a place of grace and blessing and is particularly used by pilgrims. St. Ursula is not only a place of relaxation, silence and prayer, but also a place of pilgrimage for the Schoenstatt Movement . In 1956 the first chapel was consecrated on the site. It was made of lightweight construction and very simply equipped. A Way of the Cross designed by the artist Robert Sterl was inaugurated by Bishop Otto Spülbeck on September 14, 1958 .

The topping-out ceremony for the Aspirantur House was celebrated on January 21, 1959. The one-year postgraduate course was attended by young women who wanted to attend the kindergarten teacher ecclesiastical training. From 1970 it was also the first year of training for kindergarten teachers. The training to become a Catholic kindergarten teacher lasted until 1992.

From 1963 there were special courses for the chronically ill. During the GDR era , there were summer vacation spots through the Caritas offices in the deaneries.

From the winter of 1967, courses on ecclesiastical subjects were organized by the Dresden Oratory . The former editor of the newspaper Tag of Mr. Franz Peter Sonntag organized these courses. In the history courses one could speak freely, discuss and learn things that were officially kept secret in the GDR. After the death of Franz-Peter Sonntag this important educational offer for Christians could be continued by other speakers of the church history circle. Siegfried Hübner from Erfurt, Josef Pilvousek , Bernhard Dittrich, Siegfried Foelz and Michael Ulrich were just as involved as Gerhard Feige , the current bishop of the Magdeburg diocese.

In the academic circles for doctors, not only specialist topics were dealt with, but the model of a Christian doctor in an atheistic environment. The topics moved in the border area between medicine and ethics , theology and science, faith and knowledge, euthanasia and euthanasia , abortion from a moral theological point of view, dying, death, old age, pain, psychotherapy and pastoral care were some of the topics of the events.

With the political change, the topics also changed. The Christians in the former GDR not only had to deal with the events of the communist dictatorship, but now also face the challenges of modern democratic society.

Flood of the century in Saxony in 2002

40 people, including seniors and families, who were guests in St. Ursula at the time, were unable to return home because of the flooding. In addition, some families from Pirna were accommodated in St. Ursula, as well as residents of the senior citizens' residence in Pirna. In the following days, more flood victims came to St. Ursula because of further evacuations from Pirna. Around 100 flood victims found temporary homes in St. Ursula. The institution has been honored by the city of Pirna for its commitment . Flood victims were still living in St. Ursula in September, and normal operations could only be resumed on September 30, 2002.

Redesign of St. Ursula as a family holiday home

After clarifying the ownership structure, the demolition of the old building began in 2004 to make room for the construction of a family holiday home. The new building includes a community house, six holiday homes, an apartment house and the house for the pastor and caretaker. In the community house there are group rooms, a dining room, a kitchen and play rooms. The cost of the redesign and redesign was EUR 5.334 million. On June 23, 2006, the bishop of the Dresden-Meißen diocese, Joachim Reinelt, inaugurated the new building of the chapel, which can accommodate around 70 people. What is remarkable about the furnishings is the restored Gothic winged altar, which shows St. Anne , the mother of Mary, and a bronze bell from 1781 with the inscription: "To the honor of God ". On March 30, 2007, the inauguration of the new building of the family holiday home and the renovation of the old main house followed.

The Gothic winged altar was previously in the now abandoned Christ the King's Chapel in Radebeul in the local Catholic parish . The chapel was replaced by the Christ the King Church, which was built on the same property and consecrated in November 2001 .

Events

Four Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary live and work in St. Ursula today . In addition to family vacations, there are offers for children, young people, adults, seniors and the disabled. There are leisure time for groups, parishes and senior citizens, grandparents / grandchildren days, childcare, play and handicraft opportunities for children and young people as well as courses and seminars for married couples, families, women, mothers, girls and young women. There are also regular courses for the physically handicapped, which are accompanied by the diocese's pastoral care for the disabled. The offers range from intensive thematic courses on questions of living out based on the Christian faith to creative offers and courses where visitors can get to know Saxon cuisine or go on excursions to Saxon Switzerland. Every year the student community meets here for the charity and Easter liturgy. Through good contacts in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Litoměřice ( Litoměřice ) and Czech guests to St. Ursula come.

The Caritas family holiday facility St. Ursula celebrated its 60th anniversary on July 9th, 2011 with a festive service followed by discussions and presentations.

literature

Caritas Association for the Diocese of Dresden-Meissen e. V. (Ed.), To serve in love, 60 years of the St. Ursula Naundorf family vacation home, Lißner-Druck, Dresden, 2011

Web links

Individual evidence

50.95055 14.02597Coordinates: 50 ° 57 '2 " N , 14 ° 1' 33.5" E

[1] Diocese of Dresden-Meißen / Archive 2011

[2] Diocese of Dresden-Meißen / Archive 2005

[3] Diocese of Dresden-Meißen / Archive 2007

[4] Diocese of Dresden-Meißen / Archive 2006

[5] Diocese of Dresden-Meißen / Archive 2011