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Founded: 1153Category: Religious sites in Germany
Historical period: Hohenstaufen Dynasty (Germany)
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Stolpe Abbey was the first monastery in Pomerania. Ratibor I, Duke of Pomerania, founded the abbey on 3 May 1153 in memory of his brother Wartislaw I. Wartislaw, who had subdued the area and converted its people to Christianity in the late 1120s, was killed near the site of the future monastery; according to legend he was murdered by a Liutician pagan.
The abbey was settled by Benedictine monks from Berge Abbey near Magdeburg. The Pomeranian dukes and the Counts of Gützkow granted the new foundation extensive lands in the vicinity. In 1164, a meeting between the Duke of Saxony, Henry the Lion, and King Valdemar I of Denmark was held here.
In 1304, the abbey became part of the Cistercian Order, and was made a daughter house of Pforta Abbey. In 1305, Kärkna Abbey (also known as Falkenau Abbey) and in 1319 Padise Abbey, both in Estonia, were put under the authority of Stolpe.
In 1534, Stolpe Abbey was dissolved in the course of the Protestant Reformation. The Thirty Years' War made a battleground of Stolpe and left the abbey buildings in ruins.
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.