Amberg - Salesian Monastery

Convent of the Salesian Sisters of St. Augustine built by Wolfgang Dientzenhofer according to his plans in 1693-1696

The monastery of the Salesian Sisters dedicated to Saint Augustine was built in 1693-1696 by the sisters who came to Amberg in 1692. Wolfgang Dientzenhofer was entrusted with the design and construction of the monastery. It includes the monastery church built by Wolfgang Dientzenhofer between 1697 and 1699.

Detailed information

History

On 24 March 1667, at the request of Henrietta Adelaide of Savoy, wife of the Elector Ferdinand Maria, Pope Alexander VII authorized the foundation of two convents of Salesian sisters in Munich and Amberg. The convent in the capital of the state had already been founded in 1671.

In the case of Amberg, the founding of the convent probably took place much later for financial reasons. It was not until 18 January 1692 that Elector Maximilian II Emmanuel of Bavaria granted the request of the Amberg magistrate to establish nuns to educate women "for decent, artistic work, good virtues and the fear of God". It was not until 20 April 1692 that the seven sisters from the Munich Maternity Hospital moved to temporary accommodation in Amberg and were given the revenues of the Gnadenberg and Seligenporten convents, which had been secularized during the Reformation. Construction of the monastery itself began in 1693 and was completed in 1696.

Between 1697 and 1699 the monastery church of St. Augustine was built under the direction of Wolfgang Dientzenhofer according to his own plans.

In 1753 the monastery established a branch monastery in Sulzbach, which was inhabited by six nuns two years later.

In 1793 the convent, which was also very popular with the nobility, had 22 nuns and six lay sisters. In addition to spreading Salesian spirituality by founding a devotion in honour of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (1725), the sisters devoted themselves primarily to the education of female youth, which they provided free of charge. In 1782, 147 girls attended the convent school, divided into two lower and two upper classes.

Secularisation in 1802 meant the end of the convent. The convent was dissolved on 2 March 1804. The Salesian sisters moved to a branch convent in Sulzbach. The church and the convent were transferred together with the convent to the German School Foundation (Deutsche Schulstiftung).

Initially, the girls' school remained in the convent building and was taught by four conventuals who entered the secular school service. Between 1805 and 1826 the newly established provincial library was also housed in these premises. The confessional and the convent pharmacy were sold at auction. From then on, the convent church served as a school church, "so that the pupils and pupils had their own place for daily worship, undisturbed by other people".

In 1849, the poor school nuns acquired the convent building.

Architecture

The monastery is designed as a three-storey multi-winged complex with gabled roofs.

Interior decoration

The decoration was done by Paolo di Aglio and Peter Camuze, plasterers from Giovanni Battista Carlone's ensemble.

Current

Currently, the monastery is part of the Dr. Johanna Decker Gymnasium and Real School.

Owners / users

Dr. Johanna Decker Schulen, Schulstiftung der Diözese Regensburg
Tel.: 09621 / 481-12
E-mail: gymnasium[ZAVINÁČ]djds[TEČKA]de
www.djds.de
6. Juni 2023

Map of the place and surroundings Open on mapy.cz

GPS: 49.4457339N, 11.8558392E
Klášter salesiánek