VII. Michaelfeld (Michelfeld) / Ansicht des Klosters bei seiner Entstehung.

Title

VII. Michaelfeld (Michelfeld) / Ansicht des Klosters bei seiner Entstehung.

Description

Wood engraving of Michelfeld Monastery in the Upper Palatinate in the Archdiocese of Bamberg. The monastery is a former Benedictine abbey in the Michelfeld district of the town of Auerbach. From the "Sulzbacher Kalender" a calendar for Catholic Christians.

ca. 1864

Artist

Anonymus

Historical Description

Michelfeld Monastery is a former Benedictine abbey in the Michelfeld district of the town of Auerbach in the Upper Palatinate in the archdiocese of Bamberg. The monastery, dedicated to St. Michael and St. John the Evangelist, was founded in May 1119 by Bishop Otto I of Bamberg. The first Benedictine monks came from the monastery of Michelsberg near Bamberg. At the beginning Michelfeld was a double monastery, because nuns also owned a small monastery building a few hundred meters away in Pferrach. The monastery village rose to the status of a parish in 1121, when Bishop Otto donated the Leonhard Church in Michelfeld, today the cemetery church, to the monastery. Great damage was caused by a large fire in 1378. The abbey suffered further damage during the Hussite wars. In the course of the Reformation initiated by Ottheinrich, Michelfeld Abbey was abolished under Abbot Friedrich von Aufseß in 1556. Despite the ban on accepting new members, monastic life was maintained with four Benedictines still living in the monastery. After the death of the last abbot (1558), the Palatine administration took over Michelfeld. However, the administrative unit remained in place. This made it easier for Elector Ferdinand Maria in 1669 to restore the monastery to its former purpose and returned it to the Benedictine Order. The abbot of Oberaltaich was appointed administrator and came to Michelfeld with four monks to rebuild the convent. In July 1669 the Benedictines were restored to all former rights and in 1695 the monastery regained its independence.