St. Peter In 1098, the three monastery founders, Margrave Diepold III of Vohburg, Count Berengar of Sulzbach and Count Otto of Habsberg-Kastl, were confirmed by Pope Paschal as having founded the monastery. In 1103, Abbot Theoderich began building the church with twelve Benedictine monks. The choir with the barrel vault was already completed in 1129. There is no precise information about the further progress of construction. Thanks to generous donations, the monastery was able to quickly develop into a religious center. The church had retained its Romanesque architectural style until the end of the 14th century. The first changes in the Gothic style were made under Abbot Kemnater (1399 to 1434). The apse, the cross-ribbed vault in the nave and the vault of Paradise show these features. Abbot Perching (1459 to 1490) had the Benedictus Chapel built in the Gothic style next to the southern aisle of the nave. His successor, Abbot Lang, created a lasting monument for himself with the construction of the Gothic Fourteen Holy Helpers Chapel in the northern aisle. When the Upper Palatinate was awarded to Ottheinrich of the Rhine Palatinate - he was a supporter of Luther - the monastery was dissolved in 1560. The monastery property was subject to secular administration and the church served as a grain store and horse stable. The majority of the sculptures were destroyed by the Calvinists. In 1625, during the re-Catholicization, Elector Maximilian of Bavaria handed over the entire property to the Jesuit college in Amberg. The Jesuits rebuilt the church according to their ideas: bright and inviting for the faithful. However, many Kastler residents did not agree with many of the measures. In 1782, the monastery complex was awarded to the Order of Malta. The church was given the name it has today. High altar, while the side altars still point to the Jesuits.
In 1906, a four-year restoration project brought about a number of changes. In 1916, a new organ was also installed. Another restoration was scheduled for 1966. The basic character of the church was adapted to the simple Romanesque style, which meant that many decorative or organic accessories were removed from the main church.
The vestibule of the church was converted into a mortuary. Many memorial stones, gravestones, the bones of the donors, the Schweppermann monument and the mummy shrine and the high grave of Princess Anna are now in Paradise.
The Kastl monastery castle is the largely preserved hilltop castle and later Kastl monastery on a long dolomite hill above the Lauterach valley high above Kastl in the Amberg-Sulzbach district in Bavaria. It is listed as an architectural monument under the file number D-3-71-132-21. "Archaeological findings from the Middle Ages and the early modern period in the area of the former Benedictine abbey of Kastl" are also listed as an archaeological monument under the file number D-3-6636-0070.
The castle complex was probably founded in the Carolingian period. In 954 Margrave Luitpold of Austria is said to have received Kastl Castle as a fief. In the same year Luitpold owned the entire Heubischgau with Kastl, Habsberg, Illschwang and Sulzbach. In 1098 the castle had three owners: Count Berengar of Sulzbach, Friedrich I of Habsberg-Kastl with his son Count Otto of Habsberg-Kastl and Luitgard of Zähringen, wife of Margrave Diepold II of Vohburg. Between 1098 and 1102 the owners agreed to convert the castle into a Benedictine monastery.[1] On May 12, 1102 Pope Paschal II confirmed the foundation of the monastery.
See also: Kastl (Lauterachtal)#History In the 14th century a new gate tower was built. In 1556 the use of the monastery, which was already in decline, as a Benedictine abbey ended. Until 1803 the complex was the seat of the Jesuit residence Kastl. From 1958 to 2007 it was used as a "Hungarian Gymnasium".[2] The monastery castle was subsequently renovated and rebuilt. Since 2023, it has been used by the Free State of Bavaria as a public service university for the "police" training area.[3]
Of the original castle complex, only the remains of the walls built into buildings and the ramparts have survived.
Great church that fascinated me as a child. At that time it was probably due to little Anna, who at that time could only be viewed in a wooden box at certain times. Today in an appropriate shrine.
Translated by Google •
In the know? Log-in to add a tip for other adventurers!