Ebrach Abbey
Encyclopedia
Ebrach Abbey was a Cistercian monastery in Ebrach
Ebrach
Ebrach is a community with market rights in the Upper Franconian district of Bamberg and the seat of the administrative community of Ebrach.-Etymology:...

 in Oberfranken, Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...

, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. It is located in the Bishopric of Würzburg
Bishopric of Würzburg
The Bishopric of Würzburg was a prince-bishopric in the Holy Roman Empire, located in Lower Franconia, around the city of Würzburg, Germany. Würzburg was a diocese from 743. In the 18th century, its bishop was often also Bishop of Bamberg...

.

The abbey, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist
John the Evangelist
Saint John the Evangelist is the conventional name for the author of the Gospel of John...

 and Saint Nicholas
Saint Nicholas
Saint Nicholas , also called Nikolaos of Myra, was a historic 4th-century saint and Greek Bishop of Myra . Because of the many miracles attributed to his intercession, he is also known as Nikolaos the Wonderworker...

, was founded in 1126 or 1127 by Conrad III of Germany
Conrad III of Germany
Conrad III was the first King of Germany of the Hohenstaufen dynasty. He was the son of Frederick I, Duke of Swabia, and Agnes, a daughter of the Salian Emperor Henry IV.-Life and reign:...

, his consort Gertrude
Gertrude von Sulzbach
Gertrude of Sulzbach was German Queen . She was the second wife of Conrad III of Germany.-Family:...

, who at her death in 1146 was buried here, and various Frankish
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...

 nobles, including Berno and Richwin. It was settled by twelve monks from Morimond Abbey
Morimond Abbey
Morimond Abbeyis a religious complex in Parnoy-en-Bassigny, Haute-Marne department, in the Champagne-Ardenne region of France. It was the fourth of the four great daughter abbeys of Cîteaux Abbey, of primary importance in the spread of the Cistercian Order, along with La Ferté to the south,...

 in Burgundy, under the first abbot, Adam of Ebrach
Adam of Ebrach
Adam of Ebrach was the first abbot of Ebrach Abbey in the area of Bamberg, Bavaria, Germany.Adam, originating from the parish of Cologne, is first recorded when entering the Cistercian monastery of Morimond Abbey in Burgundy...

. It was dissolved during the secularisation of Bavaria in 1803. The abbey church became the local parish church.

Heart-burial of the Bishops of Würzburg

Beginning with the 13th century, the bishops of Würzburg had their hearts brought to the monastery in Ebrach (entrails to the chapel of the Marienburg, bodies to the St. Kilian cathedral). About 30 hearts of bishops, some of which had been desecrated during the German Peasants' War
German Peasants' War
The German Peasants' War or Great Peasants' Revolt was a widespread popular revolt in the German-speaking areas of Central Europe, 1524–1526. At its height in the spring and summer of 1525, the conflict involved an estimated 300,000 peasants: contemporary estimates put the dead at 100,000...

.
, are said to have found their final resting place at Ebrach. The prince-bishop Julius Echter von Mespelbrunn
Julius Echter von Mespelbrunn
Julius Echter von Mespelbrunn was a Prince-Bishop of Würzburg, Echter was born in Mespelbrunn Castle, Spessart and died in Würzburg....

broke with this tradition and had his heart buried in the Neubaukirche.

Prison

Since 1851 the premises have served as a prison - Justizvollzugsanstalt Ebrach - and since 1958 as a young offenders' institution. A museum and some remains of the abbey buildings can still be seen on guided tours.

Sources and external links

Klöster in Bayern: Ebrach Ebrach Prison, Bayerisches Justizportal
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