Prüfening Abbey (german: Kloster Prüfening) was a

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monastery on the outskirts of

Regensburg Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the ...

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 l ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

. Since the beginning of the 19th century it has also been known as Prüfening Castle (''Schloss Prüfening''). Notably, its extant dedicatory inscription, commemorating the founding of the abbey in 1119, was created by

printing Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The ...

and is a unique document of medieval typography.;

History

Monastery

The monastery is situated on the western edge of the town of Regensburg and was founded in 1119 by Bishop Otto I of Bamberg as a Benedictine abbey. The abbey church, dedicated to

Saint George Saint George ( Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldie ...

, completed in 1125, is the first major church building of the so-called "School of

Hirsau Hirsau (formerly ''Hirschau'') is a district of the town of Calw in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, located in the south-west portion of the country, about two miles north of Calw and about twenty-four miles west of Stuttgart. Town Hi ...

" in Bavaria. It is a Romanesque

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its nam ...

with a

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building with ...

. The Romanesque wall-paintings are well-preserved. The first abbot, Erminold, is supposed to have been killed by the monks because of his strictness. The tomb built in his honour by Bishop Heinrich II of Regensburg in 1283 was the work of one of the most important Regensburg cathedral master-builders. His name has not survived, but on the basis of this work he is known in art history as the "Erminold Master". From the 1130s to the 1160s, the librarian, archivist and treasurer of Prüfening was Wolfger, who also wrote historical and biographical works.

Castle

The abbey was dissolved in 1803 during the secularisation of Bavaria. The buildings were sold, and since 1899 have been in the possession of the Princes of Thurn und Taxis.

Prince Max Emanuel of Thurn and Taxis , image =Prince Max Emanuel of Thurn and Taxis.jpg , image_size =250px , caption = , birth_date = , birth_place = Regensburg, Kingdom of Bavaria , death_date = , death_place = Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany , house = Thurn and Taxis , sp ...

(1902–1994), known as "Father Emmeram" (german: Pater Emmeram), made efforts to re-establish a monastery in the buildings, which however came to nothing. Since 2002 a

Montessori school The Montessori method of education involves children's natural interests and activities rather than formal teaching methods. A Montessori classroom places an emphasis on hands-on learning and developing real-world skills. It emphasizes indepen ...

has used the premises. The former abbey church serves as an auxiliary church for the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

parish of St. Boniface, Regensburg-Prüfening.

References

* *

External links

*
Prüfening Abbey
in the ''Abbeys of Bavaria'' database of the Bavarian State Government *

*
Montessori School website: Kloster und Schloss Prüfening
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prufening Abbey Christian monasteries established in the 12th century Benedictine monasteries in Germany Monasteries in Bavaria Roman Catholic churches in Regensburg