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Founded: 1107Category: Religious sites in Germany
Historical period: Salian Dynasty (Germany)
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Mallersdorf was formerly a monastery of the Benedictine Order and is now a Franciscan convent in Mallersdorf-Pfaffenberg.
The monastery, dedicated to Saint John the Evangelist, was founded in 1107 by Heinrich of Kirchberg, a ministerialis of Niedermünster in Regensburg, and settled by monks from either the monastery of Michelsberg in Bamberg or St. Emmeram's Abbey in Regensburg.
Under Abbot Eppo (1122-1143) the reforming influences of the monasteries of St. Georgen im Schwarzwald and of Hirsau had a significant impact. At this time the community was subordinated to Otto I, Bishop of Bamberg and placed under the direct protection of Pope Innocent II (1130-1143). In 1136 Abbot Eppo dissolved the double monastery (i.e., including both men and women) which seems to have been there until that time; the women's convent was transferred to nearby Eitting. In the 12th century there was church building in the romanesque style, in the 13th a period of spiritual awakening, and in the 14th the reforms led by Kastl Abbey. In the mid 16th century the abbey narrowly escaped dissolution. The monastic grammar school enjoyed an excellent reputation.
The abbey was finally dissolved in 1803 during the secularisation of Bavaria. The assets and estates were auctioned off. The monastery buildings were used from 1807 as offices for local officials.
Since 1869 Franciscan sisters have lived at the site.
References:The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.
The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.
The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.