Ebrach Abbey
| Kloster Ebrach | |
Church of Ebrach Abbey
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 Location within Germany
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| Monastery information | |
|---|---|
| Order | Cistercian |
| Established | 12th century |
| Disestablished | 1803 |
| Mother house | Morimond Abbey |
| Dedicated to | Virgin Mary, John the Evangelist, Saint Nicholas |
| Diocese | Würzburg |
| People | |
| Founder(s) | Berno |
| Architecture | |
| Style | Gothic, interior mostly Baroque |
| Groundbreaking | 1200 |
| Completion date | 1285 |
| Site | |
| Location | Ebrach, Germany |
| Coordinates | 49°50′49″N 10°29′39″E / 49.84694°N 10.49417°ECoordinates: 49°50′49″N 10°29′39″E / 49.84694°N 10.49417°E |
| Public access | partial |
Ebrach Abbey (German: Kloster Ebrach) is a former Cistercian monastery in Ebrach in Oberfranken, Bavaria, Germany, now used as a young offenders' institution.
The abbey, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and Saint Nicholas, was founded in 1126 or 1127, as the oldest house of the Cistercian order in Franconia. The founder, i.e. the provider of land, was a local noble named Berno. The involvement of other founders named in historic documents, such as King Konrad III, is doubtful. Berno's supposed siblings, Richwin and Berthrade, may also not have existed. The abbey was settled by twelve monks from Morimond Abbey in Burgundy, under the first abbot, Adam of Ebrach. The first church was dedicated in 1134, however, this was completely replaced later.
Gertrude von Sulzbach, King Konrad's wife, who died in 1146 was buried here.
Construction of today's church started in 1200 and was mostly completed in 1285. The final part of the main building to be finished was the west façade.
The abbey was dissolved during the secularisation in 1803. The abbey church became the local parish church.
From the 13th century, the hearts of the Bishops of Würzburg were brought to Ebrach Abbey after their deaths; their entrails were despatched to the Marienkirche and their bodies to Würzburg Cathedral. About 30 hearts of bishops, some of which had been desecrated during the German Peasants' War, are said to have found their final resting place at Ebrach. The Prince-Bishop Julius Echter von Mespelbrunn (d. 1617) broke with this tradition and left instructions for his heart to be buried in the Neubaukirche.
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Wikipedia