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Founded: 1193Category: Religious sites in Germany
Historical period: Hohenstaufen Dynasty (Germany)
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Bergen auf Rügen Abbey was a monastery for Cistercian nuns. It lasted from the end of the 12th century to the early 16th century as a Roman-Catholic monastery and then, until 1945, as an Evangelical aristocratic nunnery.
The Principality of Rügen belonged to the Bishopric of Roskilde since its conquest by the Danes in 1168, Bishop Absalon of Lund being responsible for introducing the territory to Christianity. In 1193, Prince Jaromar I of Rügen founded a nunnery near the fort (Burgwall) on the Rugard, and had it consecrated as St. Mary's Church which had originally been planned as a palace church (Pfalzkirche). The monastery was a branch of St. Mary's Abbey, Roskilde, from which the first Benedictine sisters came. When the two monasteries transferred to the Cistercian order is not known. A confirmation of the Cistercian ordinances and possessions was made by Pope Innocent IV in 1250.
On its foundation, Jaromar I granted the monastery with extensive, but scattered, estates, which were mostly on the island of Rügen. Until the mid-14th century are only a few donations by his followers or internal documents of the monastery known. After that it was increasingly involved in the purchase of whole parishes, such as in 1344, which consisted of 14 villages, and in 1357 the estates of Arnold Pape, the goods of John of Kiel in Wieck, Dranske and Goos.
References:The Jan Hus Memorial stands at one end of Old Town Square. The huge monument depicts victorious Hussite warriors and Protestants who were forced into exile 200 years after Hus, and a young mother who symbolises national rebirth. The monument was so large that the sculptor designed and built his own villa and studio where the work could be carried out. It was unveiled in 1915 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Jan Hus' martyrdom. The memorial was designed by Ladislav Šaloun and paid for solely by public donations.
Born in 1369, Hus became an influential religious thinker, philosopher, and reformer in Prague. He was a key predecessor to the Protestant movement of the sixteenth century. In his works he criticized religious moral decay of the Catholic Church. Accordingly, the Czech patriot Hus believed that mass should be given in the vernacular, or local language, rather than in Latin. He was inspired by the teachings of John Wycliffe.