Clarisse Church and Monastery

Today, the former church serves as a concert and exhibition hall. The House of Balthasar Neumann, which serves as a community centre for various gatherings – is located on the monastery grounds.

Accessible to the public (according to opening hours)

The monastery was built in the vicinity of the Franciscan Monastery in the second half of the 13th century. Since the Clarisse nuns did not have their own church, they attended masses at oratory of the neighbouring Franciscan church. Their own Church of Saint Clare was built in 1456 and in the same year, the main altar and three side altars were consecrated.

In the 1700s, the Clarisse Monastery was in such a dilapidated condition that it had to be demolished. A new convent was built by Christoph Dienzenhofer between the years 1707 and 1709 and consecrated in 1712. After the dissolution of the order in 1782, the building was used for various purposes. It served as an ice storehouse for the local brewery and even as a prison for some time. Since 1912, it houses the town archive. The monastery and the church were acquired by the town in 1923. The town entrusted the church to the Society for the Foundation of a Memorial Hall (i.e. honouring the victims of World War I). In 1945, the interior decorations and furnishings of the memorial hall were destroyed and the building once again became a storehouse – this time for storing confiscated German property.

(RS)

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