Katharinenkirche (St. Catherine's Church) was an important mediaeval church, destroyed during the Second World War and preserved as a ruin.
St. Catherine's was the church of a former Dominican convent, in the Diocese of Bamberg, famous for its Medieval Library. It was founded in 1295 by Konrad von Neumarkt and his wife Adelheid, patricians of the Pfinzig family. In the Middle Ages it had an important medieval library. After the Reformation, it became a Lutheran church. The convent was closed in 1596 after the last inhabitant died.
The church was associated with the Meistersingers who met there from 1620 to 1778, and is featured in the opening scene of Richard Wagner's opera Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.
Although destroyed by air raids in 1945, it was partially restored (1970–71) and is used for events such as open-air concerts.
References:The Château du Lude is one of the many great châteaux of the Loire Valley in France. Le Lude is the most northerly château of the Loire Valley and one of the last important historic castles in France, still inhabited by the same family for the last 260 years. The château is testimony to four centuries of French architecture, as a stronghold transformed into an elegant house during the Renaissance and the 18th century. The monument is located in the valley of Le Loir. Its gardens have evolved throughout the centuries.