![Neuzelle Kloster Interior-view](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/Neuzelle_Kloster_Interior-view.JPG)
Neuzelle Abbey is a
Cistercian
The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...
monastery in
Lower Lusatia
Lower Lusatia (; ; ; szl, Dolnŏ Łużyca; ; ) is a historical region in Central Europe, stretching from the southeast of the German state of Brandenburg to the southwest of Lubusz Voivodeship in Poland. Like adjacent Upper Lusatia in the sou ...
, Germany, in the historic border region between Lower Lusatia and the March of
Brandenburg
Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...
. It is regarded as one of the most significant
Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
monuments in the North of Germany. The monastery complex consists of several churches,
cloister
A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a ...
, cloister garden and a
brewery
A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of be ...
.
History
The Abbey was founded as Nova Cella in 1268 by
Henry the Illustrious
Henry III, called Henry the Illustrious (''Heinrich der Erlauchte'') (c. 1215 – 15 February 1288) from the House of Wettin was Margrave of Meissen and last Margrave of Lusatia (as Henry IV) from 1221 until his death; from 1242 also Landgrav ...
, Margrave of Meissen and Lusatia for the benefit of the soul of his deceased wife Agnes. It was repeatedly destroyed by the Hussites in the 15th century. Since the monks refused to follow the teachings of
Jan Hus
Jan Hus (; ; 1370 – 6 July 1415), sometimes anglicized as John Hus or John Huss, and referred to in historical texts as ''Iohannes Hus'' or ''Johannes Huss'', was a Czech theologian and philosopher who became a Church reformer and the inspir ...
they were killed or abducted and later glorified as martyrs.
Neuzelle was rebuilt around 1500. It survived during
Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
as a
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
Abbey in a region were most people followed
Martin Luther
Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Refo ...
around 1550. Most of the monks that settled in Neuzelle were from
Bohemia
Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
, studying at the
Charles University
)
, image_name = Carolinum_Logo.svg
, image_size = 200px
, established =
, type = Public, Ancient
, budget = 8.9 billion CZK
, rector = Milena Králíčková
, faculty = 4,057
, administrative_staff = 4,026
, students = 51,438
, undergr ...
in Prague. Neuzelle could even continue when it fell to Saxony as a consequence of the
Thirty Years War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an es ...
, since the Emperor reserved certain rights to himself and closely attached the abbey ecclesiastically to Prague.
In 1817, with the
Vienna Congress
The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...
, parts of
Lower Lusatia
Lower Lusatia (; ; ; szl, Dolnŏ Łużyca; ; ) is a historical region in Central Europe, stretching from the southeast of the German state of Brandenburg to the southwest of Lubusz Voivodeship in Poland. Like adjacent Upper Lusatia in the sou ...
fell to
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
and were incorporated into the Province of
Brandenburg
Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...
. Thus, the abbey was finally secularised by the order of King
Frederick William III
Frederick William III (german: Friedrich Wilhelm III.; 3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was King of Prussia from 16 November 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, wh ...
. Since 1820, the abbey buildings have been used for educational and administrative work whereas the abbey churches have remained Roman Catholic and served as parish churches. In 1947 one of the churches was consecrated as Blessed Virgin Mary pilgrimage church.
Today the complex of Neuzelle Abbey is held by a public foundation run by the state of Brandenburg.
Architecture
Neuzelle is a
Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
style abbey, which is up to this day an oddity in Brandenburg, an area mainly dominated by
Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
churches. Neuzelle Abbey was first built and renovated in Gothic style. Gothic elements of the original building still can be found in the cloister and enclosure such as cross-ribbed structures, sculptures, corbel decoration and late medieval paintings.
The Baroque redesigning of the abbey commenced in 1650. The enclosure buildings, the church and the administrative building – with its “Princely wing” – are located to the north of the central courtyard. Extending to the west is the arcade, with the entrance portal and the foundation registry. The “coach stalls” are located in the south, while the cloister garden extends to the east. The foundation church and the “peoples’ church”, both displaying South German and Bohemian Baroque styles, represented the new significance of the abbey in the 18th century.
An altar at the Neuzelle abbey church is dedicated to
John of Nepomuk
John of Nepomuk (or John Nepomucene) ( cs, Jan Nepomucký; german: Johannes Nepomuk; la, Ioannes Nepomucenus) ( 1345 – 20 March 1393)
was the saint of Bohemia (Czech Republic) who was drowned in the Vltava river at the behest of Wenceslaus IV ...
(John Ne-pomucene), Archbishop of Prague. The Infant Jesus from the church Santa Maria de Victoria in Prague is considered to have provided the model for the altar of the Divine Infant at the Neuzelle abbey church.
A Baroque garden was established at Neuzelle Abbey in 1760. The abbey‘s location provided the opportunity for an elongated terraced garden, which provides manifold views of the geometrically designed garden area and of the expanse of the
Oder
The Oder ( , ; Czech, Lower Sorbian and ; ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river in total length and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows thr ...
river meadows as well as of the abbey grounds.
The restoration of the historical abbey is scheduled to be largely completed by the time of the Neuzelle Abbey's 750th anniversary in 2018.
References
{{coord, 52.0906, N, 14.6522, E, source:wikidata, display=title, format=dms
Roman Catholic churches in Brandenburg
13th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Germany
Baroque church buildings in Germany
Localities in Oder-Spree
Cistercian monasteries in Germany