You are here:
Abbeys > Germany > Bavaria > Heilsbronn > Heilsbronn

Heilsbronn

In 1132 Bishop Otto von Bamberg (1102-39) founded the Heilsbronn Monastery. In 1141 Cistercian monks from Ebrach, the first daughter monastery of Morimond on the right bank of the Rhine, settled there. Eight years later the cathedral was consecrated: St. Mary and James.

Above all, the church stands before our eyes. The Romanesque-Gothic basilica is richly decorated with works of art from the 14th-16th centuries, which bring Cistercian spirituality and theology into the picture. Typical for the order, the complex was built in a hollow. There are springs both in front of the church and in its rear area. The water from these springs joins with that of some others up to the monastery mill to form the small river Schwabach.

The former cloister area, located north of the church, has been laid out as an open-air flower garden since 2010. In it a modern glass fountain with three bowls. Preserved are the refectory of the monks from the 13th century, the New Abbey from the 14th-16th century and some younger monastery buildings.

Holders of both political and ecclesiastical power showed great appreciation for the strict spirituality of the Cistercians. This shaped Heilsbronn Abbey. From early on the church served as the burial place of local noble families. It accommodates about 500 graves. This is what they called the "Christian dormitory of Franconia". The Hohenzollern, from 1415 Electors of the German Empire and Margraves of Ansbach, chose the abbey as their burial place between 1297 and 1625. They erected three large high graves in the lay area.

Around 1500, the monastery reached its strongest influence with estates in 292 villages, six town courtyards (including Nuremberg, Würzburg and Heidelberg) and many parish patronages. Margrave George the Pious (1515-43) introduced the Reformation here in 1528. In 1534 Heilsbronn was the first Cistercian monastery ever to convert its novice education into a public school. Heilsbronn Abbey has always remained a place of education over the centuries.

The cathedral is mainly used by the Protestant parish. It is located on the St. James' Way in Middle Franconia. On Sundays at 9.30 or 10.00 a.m. there is a church service, on Fridays at 5.30 p.m. there is an hourly prayer with the Protestant convent. Every year there are exhibitions of modern artists, in cooperation with the religious education centre of the regional church. On Thursdays at 7.00 p.m. in summer "Sacred Music" is played - concerts by a wide variety of performers from all over Germany and beyond.