Franciscan Monastery in Kadan
Encyclopedia
The Franciscan Monastery lies on the edge of the town of Kadaň
, Czech Republic
and near the river Ohře
. Its history dates back to the 15th century. It is now the seat of the Municipal Museum of Kadaň with e.g. the exposition of the conventual life. The church dedication to Fourteen Holy Helpers
shows the contacts to then popular German shrines of the same cult. Around the building is a beautiful vineyard, a French park and a lot of plum trees. The monastery was ranked among the national cultural monuments by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic in 1995. The monastery faces the Úhošť
hill on the opposite slope of the Ohře valley.
The first building on the site of the present-day Franciscan Monastery in Kadaň was a moderate holy shrine first mentioned in 1469. At Easter
1473 Franciscan Order assumed the shrine and with the support of Kadaň inhabitants and the House of Vitzhum built a temporary Convent
house around it with the view of building a stone monastery. The Order experienced bloom and expansion in Bohemia particularly after the visit of Saint John Capistran. The monastery was built in several periods between 1473 and 1500. The sanctuary
of the church with the quadripartite rib vault was built first and it was dedicated by Hierapolitan
bishop and auxiliary bishop of Regensburg
Johann Ludwig in 1480. The three-aisled nave
with sexpartite rib vault was finished in 1493 and dedicated by bishop of Kamień Pomorski Benedikt of Valdštejn. All the monastery was probably completed by 1500. The walls of the church were decorated with abundant Gothic
and Renaissance
paintings that are now being restored. The first presumptions show affinity to Lucas Cranach
school.
In 1481 the monastery was handed over to the Jan Hasištejnský z Lobkovic
. Its development reached the peak in 1522 when the provincial Franciscan school was established. However, the monastery was abolished in 1564 in connection with the stormy spread of Lutheranism
in the area. It was soon reestablihed by Jiří Popel z Lobkovic but was corrupted again after the 1618 uprising.
The revival did not come until the second half of the 17th century when the buildings were renovated and the church received new furniture and fixtures. The 18th century brought several unfavourable events. French soldiers of the anti-Habsburg
coalition used the church as their shelter while withdrawing after they had been driven from Prague
by the army of Maria Theresia
in 1742. The church became a witness to a bloody exchange of gunfire. The riddled Baroque door still evokes those moments.
The monastery escaped abolition during Joseph II
's reforms by a hair's breadth. The number of monks was, however, limited from thirty-six to twelve.
During World War II
the Franciscans had to surrender half of their monastery to the Wehrmacht
for Hitlerjugend needs. Communists closed the monastery in 1950 and it was used as a record office's depositary and got dilapidated due to insufficient maintenance. In 1991 the monastery was given back to Franciscans but they passed it over to the favour of Litoměřice
diocese in 1994. The diocesan officials entered into the agreement with the Municipal Office to lease the monastery to the town of Kadaň. The has been giving means to reconstruct the valuable interior and wall fresco
s. In 1999 the newer parts of the buildings were dedicated to the Elementary Music, Dancing and Fine Arts School and a permanent exhibition of mining was opened in the cellars. The Municipal Museum was inaugurated in May 2004.
of Jesus Christ and to the Fourteen Holy Helpers
. It was built in the late Gothic style with a ribbed vault and the pointed windows. The furniture and equipment is from the Baroque
period.
The Franciscans are a mendicant order, which is why they did not own the church and the monastery. Therefore the king owned the buildings (at the time of its erecting Ladislaus II Jagellion was on the throne) or an aristocrat. In 1481 the dynasty of Lobkowitz became the owners. They had been the baillie holders of Kadaň from 1469. In the sanctuary is their family vault. The secular founder of the monastery is Jan Hasištejnský z Lobkovic
. That is why his tomb is the biggest and most beautiful. Originally it stood above the grave of the founder, but during the Baroque period the church was rebuilt and Franciscans put it against the wall. Today nobody knows where the grave of the founder might have been.
The high altar is the dominant feature in the church. On the altar are two wonderful statues – on the left the statue of St. Francis of Assisi, the founder of the Franciscan order, and on the right the statue of St. Anthony of Padua
, who holds a lily and the child Jesus Christ in his hands.
s. It can refer to the use of the rooms by the family of Hasištejn. Such diamond vaults are rare in Bohemia
.
The legend of the inception tells about a noble family whose five brothers once offended the monarch. They should have been executed but the intercessions of Kadaň inhabitants made the monarch have mercy on the future of the family and symbolically punish just one of the brothers. They played at dice to decide who would hang for the others. The lot fell upon the eldest brother who was hanged straight afterwards in the place of execution that is said to have been situated in the site of the monastery. He was hanging there for three days and nights without dying. He was asked by the crowds how it was possible and he explained that he had been praying to Fourteen Holy Helpers. After having heard of the miracle the monarch came to save the penitent‘s life, take down the gallows and have a shrine to the Helpers built.
Another miracle occurred during the construction. A pregnant lady asked the masons what they were building and when she heard of the Fourteen Holy Helpers she laughed and said that she would rather give birth to fourteen babies than believe in some Holy Helpers‘ existence. After claiming that she went to the town gate (now Holy Gate) and really gave birth to eleven boys and three daughters – all baptized in the names of the Helpers.
lead from the Holy gate to the shrine. They are all sculptured in Baroque style. According to a tradition the journey takes the same length as the way from Pilate
‘s house to the Calvary
. All the stations depict the falls of Christ
.
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Kadan
Kadaň , is a city in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic.The city lies on the banks of the river Ohře. Although it is situated in an industrial part of the Czech Republic there is no major industry within the city and people usually work in offices or have to commute. There are two...
, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
and near the river Ohře
Ohre
The Ohře is a 316 km long river in Germany and the Czech Republic , left tributary of the Elbe. The basin area of the river has a size of 6,255 km², of which 5,614 km² are in the Czech Republic and 641 km² in Germany...
. Its history dates back to the 15th century. It is now the seat of the Municipal Museum of Kadaň with e.g. the exposition of the conventual life. The church dedication to Fourteen Holy Helpers
Fourteen Holy Helpers
The Fourteen Holy Helpers are a group of saints venerated together in Roman Catholicism because their intercession is believed to be particularly effective, especially against various diseases...
shows the contacts to then popular German shrines of the same cult. Around the building is a beautiful vineyard, a French park and a lot of plum trees. The monastery was ranked among the national cultural monuments by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic in 1995. The monastery faces the Úhošť
Úhošt
Úhošť is a hill near Kadaň, Czech Republic between the villages Brodce and Pokutice. The hill is part of Doupov Mountains. It reaches the elevation of 592 metres and has the area of 282 acres . It has been ranked among Czech National Natural Reservations since 1974...
hill on the opposite slope of the Ohře valley.
History
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
1473 Franciscan Order assumed the shrine and with the support of Kadaň inhabitants and the House of Vitzhum built a temporary Convent
Convent
A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...
house around it with the view of building a stone monastery. The Order experienced bloom and expansion in Bohemia particularly after the visit of Saint John Capistran. The monastery was built in several periods between 1473 and 1500. The sanctuary
Sanctuary
A sanctuary is any place of safety. They may be categorized into human and non-human .- Religious sanctuary :A religious sanctuary can be a sacred place , or a consecrated area of a church or temple around its tabernacle or altar.- Sanctuary as a sacred place :#Sanctuary as a sacred place:#:In...
of the church with the quadripartite rib vault was built first and it was dedicated by Hierapolitan
Hierapolis
Hierapolis was the ancient Greco-Roman city which sat on top of hot springs located in south western Turkey near Denizli....
bishop and auxiliary bishop of Regensburg
Regensburg
Regensburg is a city in Bavaria, Germany, located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen rivers, at the northernmost bend in the Danube. To the east lies the Bavarian Forest. Regensburg is the capital of the Bavarian administrative region Upper Palatinate...
Johann Ludwig in 1480. The three-aisled nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
with sexpartite rib vault was finished in 1493 and dedicated by bishop of Kamień Pomorski Benedikt of Valdštejn. All the monastery was probably completed by 1500. The walls of the church were decorated with abundant Gothic
Gothic art
Gothic art was a Medieval art movement that developed in France out of Romanesque art in the mid-12th century, led by the concurrent development of Gothic architecture. It spread to all of Western Europe, but took over art more completely north of the Alps, never quite effacing more classical...
and Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
paintings that are now being restored. The first presumptions show affinity to Lucas Cranach
Lucas Cranach the Elder
Lucas Cranach the Elder , was a German Renaissance painter and printmaker in woodcut and engraving...
school.
In 1481 the monastery was handed over to the Jan Hasištejnský z Lobkovic
Jan Hasištejnský z Lobkovic
Jan Hasištejnský z Lobkovic was a Bohemian diplomat to Luxembourg 1477 and Rome 1487 in the time of Ladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary. The king sent him to negotiate a marriage with Mary of Burgundy. He made a journey to Palestine in 1493 and wrote a travel book about it called Pilgrimage to...
. Its development reached the peak in 1522 when the provincial Franciscan school was established. However, the monastery was abolished in 1564 in connection with the stormy spread of Lutheranism
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
in the area. It was soon reestablihed by Jiří Popel z Lobkovic but was corrupted again after the 1618 uprising.
The revival did not come until the second half of the 17th century when the buildings were renovated and the church received new furniture and fixtures. The 18th century brought several unfavourable events. French soldiers of the anti-Habsburg
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...
coalition used the church as their shelter while withdrawing after they had been driven from Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
by the army of Maria Theresia
Maria Theresa of Austria
Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina was the only female ruler of the Habsburg dominions and the last of the House of Habsburg. She was the sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands and Parma...
in 1742. The church became a witness to a bloody exchange of gunfire. The riddled Baroque door still evokes those moments.
The monastery escaped abolition during Joseph II
Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor
Joseph II was Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 to 1790 and ruler of the Habsburg lands from 1780 to 1790. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Francis I...
's reforms by a hair's breadth. The number of monks was, however, limited from thirty-six to twelve.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the Franciscans had to surrender half of their monastery to the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
for Hitlerjugend needs. Communists closed the monastery in 1950 and it was used as a record office's depositary and got dilapidated due to insufficient maintenance. In 1991 the monastery was given back to Franciscans but they passed it over to the favour of Litoměřice
Litomerice
Litoměřice is a town at the junction of the rivers Elbe and Ohře in the north part of the Czech Republic, approximately 64 km northwest of Prague....
diocese in 1994. The diocesan officials entered into the agreement with the Municipal Office to lease the monastery to the town of Kadaň. The has been giving means to reconstruct the valuable interior and wall fresco
Fresco
Fresco is any of several related mural painting types, executed on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Greek word affresca which derives from the Latin word for "fresh". Frescoes first developed in the ancient world and continued to be popular through the Renaissance...
s. In 1999 the newer parts of the buildings were dedicated to the Elementary Music, Dancing and Fine Arts School and a permanent exhibition of mining was opened in the cellars. The Municipal Museum was inaugurated in May 2004.
Church
The Church is dedicated to the AnnunciationAnnunciation
The Annunciation, also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary or Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the announcement by the angel Gabriel to Virgin Mary, that she would conceive and become the mother of Jesus the Son of God. Gabriel told Mary to name her...
of Jesus Christ and to the Fourteen Holy Helpers
Fourteen Holy Helpers
The Fourteen Holy Helpers are a group of saints venerated together in Roman Catholicism because their intercession is believed to be particularly effective, especially against various diseases...
. It was built in the late Gothic style with a ribbed vault and the pointed windows. The furniture and equipment is from the Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
period.
The Franciscans are a mendicant order, which is why they did not own the church and the monastery. Therefore the king owned the buildings (at the time of its erecting Ladislaus II Jagellion was on the throne) or an aristocrat. In 1481 the dynasty of Lobkowitz became the owners. They had been the baillie holders of Kadaň from 1469. In the sanctuary is their family vault. The secular founder of the monastery is Jan Hasištejnský z Lobkovic
Jan Hasištejnský z Lobkovic
Jan Hasištejnský z Lobkovic was a Bohemian diplomat to Luxembourg 1477 and Rome 1487 in the time of Ladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary. The king sent him to negotiate a marriage with Mary of Burgundy. He made a journey to Palestine in 1493 and wrote a travel book about it called Pilgrimage to...
. That is why his tomb is the biggest and most beautiful. Originally it stood above the grave of the founder, but during the Baroque period the church was rebuilt and Franciscans put it against the wall. Today nobody knows where the grave of the founder might have been.
The high altar is the dominant feature in the church. On the altar are two wonderful statues – on the left the statue of St. Francis of Assisi, the founder of the Franciscan order, and on the right the statue of St. Anthony of Padua
Anthony of Padua
Anthony of Padua or Anthony of Lisbon, O.F.M., was a Portuguese Catholic priest and friar of the Franciscan Order. Though he died in Padua, Italy, he was born to a wealthy family in Lisbon, Portugal, which is where he was raised...
, who holds a lily and the child Jesus Christ in his hands.
Diamond vault
Several rooms of the monastery are decorated with late Gothic diamond vaultDiamond vault
A diamond vault is a form of vault used in the Late Gothic and Renaissance style, which is based on an elaborate system of cavernous vaults in a manner resembling diamonds. It was widely used especially in Central European countries....
s. It can refer to the use of the rooms by the family of Hasištejn. Such diamond vaults are rare in Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
.
Legend
Another miracle occurred during the construction. A pregnant lady asked the masons what they were building and when she heard of the Fourteen Holy Helpers she laughed and said that she would rather give birth to fourteen babies than believe in some Holy Helpers‘ existence. After claiming that she went to the town gate (now Holy Gate) and really gave birth to eleven boys and three daughters – all baptized in the names of the Helpers.
Via Crucis
Seven stations of the CrossStations of the Cross
Stations of the Cross refers to the depiction of the final hours of Jesus, and the devotion commemorating the Passion. The tradition as chapel devotion began with St...
lead from the Holy gate to the shrine. They are all sculptured in Baroque style. According to a tradition the journey takes the same length as the way from Pilate
Pontius Pilate
Pontius Pilatus , known in the English-speaking world as Pontius Pilate , was the fifth Prefect of the Roman province of Judaea, from AD 26–36. He is best known as the judge at Jesus' trial and the man who authorized the crucifixion of Jesus...
‘s house to the Calvary
Calvary
Calvary or Golgotha was the site, outside of ancient Jerusalem’s early first century walls, at which the crucifixion of Jesus is said to have occurred. Calvary and Golgotha are the English names for the site used in Western Christianity...
. All the stations depict the falls of Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
.
Events
- Franciscan Summer (all-summer weekends folk and country festival)
- Night in the Museum
- Advent
- Nativity Play
- Masopust Carnival
- Kirwitzer Day
External links
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