This article has an unclear citation style .(October 2023) |
Kloster Osterhofen | |
Monastery information | |
---|---|
Other names | Altenmarkt Abbey |
Order | Premonstratensian |
Established | 1128 |
Disestablished | 1783 |
Dedicated to | Saint Margaret |
Diocese | Passau |
People | |
Founder(s) | Bishop Otto von Bamberg |
Architecture | |
Functional status | In use |
Site | |
Coordinates | 48°41′30″N13°00′55″E / 48.6916°N 13.0153°E |
Osterhofen Abbey (German : Kloster Osterhofen, also called Altenmarkt Convent German : Altenmarkt-Damenstift ) is a former monastery in Bavaria, Germany, It is located in the Altenmarkt section of Osterhofen, a town to the south of the Danube between Deggendorf and Vilshofen / Passau. It has its origins in a collegiate built in 1004–09. From 1128 to 1783 it was a Premonstratensian monastery. For a while it was then a convent. Today it contains a girls' secondary school. The former abbey church, a magnificent late baroque building erected in 1726–40, is now the Basilica of Saint Margaret.
Henry V, Duke of Bavaria and his wife Luitgard erected a collegiate abbey of Augustinian Canons in his palace in Osterhofen in 1004–09. [1] [2] In 1017 the Emperor Henry II of Germany transferred the abbey to the diocese of Bamberg. In 1128 Bishop Otto of Bamberg brought men and women from the Premonstratensian Ursberg Abbey to the Osterhofen collegiate abbey. [2] The abbey was endowed with extensive properties in the Wachau valley of Austria. [3] The female branch of the abbey was probably extinct after 1200. In 1288 the head of the abbey become a provost. In 1414 the abbot was granted the right to wear the miter in liturgical celebrations. [2]
Through its history, the monastery and the town had a checkered history, suffering damage from warfare and fire. [1] There was a fire in the monastery in 1512. In 1701 a major fire caused by lightning destroyed the monastery. It was rebuilt in 1717–27. [2] The former Gothic church also suffered great damage, and in 1726 it was decided to erect a new building. The fantastically ornamented monastery church was designed and built in 1726–40. [1]
In 1783 the monastery was dissolved by the Bavarian state. Maria Anna Sophia, the widow of the Elector of Bavaria, wished to give the noble-born nuns of the convent of Saint Anne in Munich a better endowment. The Pope agreed to assign the monastery and its properties to the sisters. The last of the Premonstratensians remained in the building until 1800. [2] The church became the parish church in 1818. The convent sold the monastery building to the state in 1833. [4]
In 1858 the Sisters of Loreto moved into the building and founded a girls' secondary school. [2] The school had six English lady teachers with twelve pupils. It was intended for girls "from better homes". In 1859 it was designated a school for middle-class girls to learn housework, and from 1859 to 1873 as an institute for neglected children. In 1886 it became a college of education. Care of small children began in 1901. The school started accepting day pupils in 1913. [5] A dilapidated part of the abbey's west wing was demolished in 1938. [2] In 1942 the school was temporarily closed, opening again in 1946 as a 3-class middle school for girls. It became a 4-level secondary school in 1961, and a 6-level secondary school in 1999. [5] The Realschule Damenstift (Convent Secondary School) was transferred to the Mary Ward Foundation of the Diocese of Passau in 2001. [2] It is a government recognized secondary school for girls. [1]
The monastery church, built in colored stucco and marble, is one of the most lavishly decorated in Lower Bavaria. It was designed and built between 1726 and 1740 by the Munich architect and master-builder Johann Michael Fischer (1727–28) and the brothers Cosmas Damian Asam and Egid Quirin Asam. [2] The nave is large, bright and spacious, with a 22 metres (72 ft) high ceiling. [6] The Asam brothers created a throne room in honor of God, a "theatrum sacrum". Cosmas Damian Asam, a brilliant painter, created the wonderful frescoes in the church. His brother Egid Quirin Asam filled the church interior with sculptures and ornaments, notably the impressive high altar. [1] The altarpiece represents Saint Margaret set within a pagan environment, with a statue of Venus in a temple behind her. [7] The church is considered a masterpiece of late baroque Bavarian church architecture. In 1983 the church became the Minor Basilica of St. Margaret, known as the Asambasilika. [1]
Cosmas Damian Asam was a German painter and architect during the late Baroque period. Born in Benediktbeuern, he lived in Rome from 1711 to 1713 to study at the Accademia di San Luca with Carlo Maratta. In 1713, Asam won the Academy's first prize for his drawing of Miracle of Saint Pio. In Germany, he worked with his brother Egid Quirin, a sculptor and stucco worker, on building and decorating entirely new churches or redesigning churches in the Baroque style. Their joint projects are often attributed to the "Asam Brothers". Cosmas Damian died in Munich.
Ettal Abbey is a Benedictine monastery in the village of Ettal close to Oberammergau and Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Bavaria, Germany. With a community of more than 50 monks, with another five at Wechselburg, the Abbey is one of the largest Benedictine houses and is a major attraction for visitors.
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Niederaltaich Abbey is a house of the Benedictine Order founded in 741, situated in the village of Niederalteich on the Danube in Bavaria.
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Johann Michael Fischer was a German architect in the late Baroque period.
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Egid Quirin Asam was a German plasterer, sculptor, architect, and painter. He was active during the Late Baroque and Rococo periods.
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Ursberg Abbey is a former Premonstratensian monastery, now a convent of the Franciscan St. Joseph's Congregation, situated in the small village of Ursberg in the district of Günzburg, Bavaria.
Johann Baptist Straub was a German Rococo sculptor.
Marchtal Abbey is a former Premonstratensian monastery in Obermarchtal in the Alb-Donau-Kreis, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The minster church of Saints Peter and Paul, the former abbey church, located on a prominent elevation, still dominates the landscape for miles around.
Windberg Abbey is a Premonstratensian monastery in Windberg in Lower Bavaria, Germany.
Rot an der Rot Abbey was a Premonstratensian monastery in Rot an der Rot in Upper Swabia, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It was the first Premonstratensian monastery in the whole of Swabia. The imposing structure of the former monastery is situated on a hill between the valleys of the rivers Rot and Haslach. The monastery church, dedicated to St Verena, and the convent buildings are an important part of the Upper Swabian Baroque Route. Apart from the actual monastic buildings, a number of other structures have been preserved among which are the gates and the economy building.
Rüti Monastery was a former Premonstratensian monastery, founded in 1206 and suppressed in 1525 on occasion of the Reformation in Zürich, situated in the municipality of Rüti in the canton of Zürich, Switzerland. The monastery's church was the final resting place of the Counts of Toggenburg, among them Count Friedrich VII and 13 other members of the Toggenburg family, and other noble families. Between 1206 and 1525, the monastery comprised 14 incorporated churches and the owner of extensive lands and estates at 185 localities.
Hamborn Abbey is a Premonstratensian monastery in the Alt-Hamborn district of Duisburg, Germany. The abbey is physically located in the diocese of Essen, although not formally part of it.
Fürstenzell Abbey is a former Cistercian abbey in Fürstenzell, in Bavaria, in the diocese of Passau. It was a daughter monastery of the Aldersbach monastery from the filiation of the Morimond primary abbey - Ebrach monastery.
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