Ursberg Abbey (german: Kloster Ursberg) is a former Premonstratensian monastery, now a convent of the

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

St. Joseph's Congregation, situated in the small village of Ursberg in the district of Günzburg,

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

History

The monastery, dedicated to

Saint Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupat ...

and

Saint John the Evangelist John the Evangelist ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης, Iōánnēs; Aramaic: ܝܘܚܢܢ; Ge'ez: ዮሐንስ; ar, يوحنا الإنجيلي, la, Ioannes, he, יוחנן cop, ⲓⲱⲁⲛⲛⲏⲥ or ⲓⲱ̅ⲁ) is the name traditionally given t ...

, was founded between 1126 and 1128 by the nobleman Wernher of Schwabegg-Balzhausen. It was the first Premonstratensian foundation in southern Germany. The monastery became an

Imperial abbey Princely abbeys (german: Fürstabtei, ''Fürststift'') and Imperial abbeys (german: Reichsabtei, ''Reichskloster'', ''Reichsstift'', ''Reichsgotthaus'') were religious establishments within the Holy Roman Empire which enjoyed the status of impe ...

(''Reichsstift'') in 1143. As was usual with early Premonstratensian foundations, this was originally a double monastery, with a separate nunnery, which lasted until at least 1320 or so. Ursberg was very active in its early years in settling other Premonstratensian houses. This was largely due to the energetic prior Grimo, who was later declared Blessed. In 1126

Roggenburg Abbey Roggenburg Abbey (Kloster Roggenburg or Reichsstift Roggenburg) is a Premonstratensian canonry in Roggenburg near Neu-Ulm, Bavaria, in operation between 1126 and 1802, and again from its re-foundation in 1986. Since 1992 it has been a dependent pr ...

was founded. In 1128

Osterhofen Osterhofen is a town in the district of Deggendorf, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the right bank of the Danube, 16 km south of Deggendorf. The town surrounds Osterhofen Abbey Osterhofen Abbey (german: Kloster Osterhofen, also c ...

near Passau was established, followed in about 1130 by

and in 1135 by

Kaisheim Abbey The Imperial Abbey of Kaisersheim (German:''Reichsstift Kaisersheim'' or ''Kloster Kaisersheim''), was a Cistercian monastery in Kaisersheim (now Kaisheim), Bavaria, Germany. As one of the 40-odd self-ruling imperial abbeys of the Holy Roman Emp ...

. In 1140 Premonstratensians from Ursberg took over

Schäftlarn Abbey Schäftlarn Abbey (Kloster Schäftlarn) is a Benedictine monastery on the Isar in Schäftlarn, south of Munich in Bavaria, Germany. History The monastery was founded in 762 by Waltrich, a priest of noble family, on his own land. The monaster ...

,"Schäftlarn Abbey", Collegio Sant'Anselmo
/ref> and in 1142 Bishop

Otto of Freising Otto of Freising ( la, Otto Frisingensis; c. 1114 – 22 September 1158) was a German churchman of the Cistercian order and chronicled at least two texts which carries valuable information on the political history of his own time. He was Otto I ...

used them for the foundation of in

Freising Freising () is a university town in Bavaria, Germany, and the capital of the Freising ''Landkreis'' (district), with a population of about 50,000. Location Freising is the oldest town between Regensburg and Bolzano, and is located on the ...

. The church was built in about 1230. Originally a Romanesque structure, it was refurbished in the Baroque style by the master builder of

Wettenhausen Abbey Wettenhausen Abbey (German: ''Kloster Wettenhausen'', ''Reichsabtei Wettenhausen'') was an Imperial Abbey of Augustinian Canons until its secularization in 1802–1803. Being one of the 40-odd self-ruling Imperial Abbeys of the Holy Roman Empire, ...

, Josef Dossenberger the younger. The ceiling frescoes by Jakob Fröschle and Konrad Huber also stem from this period. Aerial image of the Ursberg Abbey

The Romanesque cross with the attendant figures of the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

and John the Evangelist is of especial note. The high altar is by J. Pflaum. The organ was built by Johann Nepomuk Holzhey. The abbey was dissolved in 1803 in the course of the

secularisation In sociology, secularization (or secularisation) is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions. The ''secularization thesis'' expresses the ...

of Bavaria. The church became the parish church, and the priest's house and the regional court (''Landgericht'') of Krumbach were accommodated in the former monastic premises. In 1884 Father Dominikus Ringeisen managed to acquire the buildings, which were by then empty, where he set up a community of sisters for the care of the physically and mentally handicapped, now known as the ''Dominikus-Ringeisen-Werk''. This endeavour developed into the St. Joseph's Congregation of Ursberg, a Franciscan community of about 270 sisters. In Ursberg, along with branches in Maria Bildhausen, the former Holzen Abbey,"History" Kloster Holzen
/ref> Pfaffenhausen and Breitbrunn am Ammersee, about 2,500 handicapped people are provided with accommodation and work, care and home. Image:SeitenaltarUrsberg.jpg, An altar inside the abbey Image:Kloster Ursberg Orgel.jpg, The roof and an organ

References

External links

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*
Klöster in Bayern: Ursberg
{{Authority control Imperial abbeys disestablished in 1802–03 States and territories established in 1143 Monasteries in Bavaria Premonstratensian monasteries in Germany Franciscan convents 1120s establishments in Germany Religious organizations established in the 1120s Christian monasteries established in the 12th century Günzburg (district)