Frauenzell Monastery

Monastery Church of the Assumption of MaryThe monastery and the town developed from a hermitage; two lay brothers from the Oberalteich Abbey had settled here. On August 4, 1325, the church was consecrated "in honor of the Most Holy Trinity and the Blessed Virgin Mary." Raised to an abbey in 1424, the monastery received the right of episcopal infulation from Pope Alexander VI in 1495. In 1721, Abbot Benedict I was pressured by the electoral side and clergy to completely renovate the monastery and church - both dilapidated due to age and war damage. So in 1722 he began to build a new monastery, which was ready for occupancy in 1735. In the spring of 1737, the foundation stone of the new church was laid. The construction had to be postponed again and again due to the death of the responsible builders, wars and debts, and the church was not consecrated until August 2, 1795. In the course of secularization, the monastery was closed in March 1803.
The original floor plan of the church modifies the wall pillar system in the spirit of the 18th century. A centralizing main room with three side wall niches is adjoined to a circular choir in the east and a smaller, oval vestibule in the west, above which the organ choir is located.
The high altar was completed in 1790 by the monk Albert Kaup. The miraculous image in the middle of the altar is a wooden figure from the 17th century and shows the Mother of God with the baby Jesus, flanked by two candlestick angels. Outside there are two large Rococo figures of St. Joseph (left) and St. Joachim (right) by Christian Jorhan from Landshut. In the excerpt is the symbol of the Holy Spirit, from which golden rays point down to Mary and the Christ Child.
The ceiling painting in the choir shows the intercessory power of Mary, the frescoes in the nave glorify Mary, the patron saint of the church, it shows the Ascension of Mary in a masterful composition amid the jubilation of earth and heaven, the frescoes were created in 1752 by Otto Gebhard.
In the first niche in the nave is a Pieta. Next to it are figures of St. Peter and St. Magdalene. The central niche contains the Sebastian altar with the figurative representation of the martyrdom, as well as the rococo figures of St. Peter and St. Paul. In the third niche is the Benedictus altar with an oil painting "Death of the Saint". Opposite it is the altar of St. Scholastica with the altar painting "Death of the Saint".Source: Excerpts from the church guide

The Frauenzell Monastery is a former Benedictine abbey which today belongs to the Diocese of Regensburg. The granite stone tower comes from the previous church from 1357. The rest of the church building from the 18th century.