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Founded: 1240Category: Religious sites in Germany
Historical period: Hohenstaufen Dynasty (Germany)
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Pielenhofen Abbey for Cistercian nuns, dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, was founded in 1240 by the lords of Hohenfels and Ehrenfels. In 1542, during the Reformation in Pfalz-Neuburg, it was placed under secular administration. In 1655 it was subordinated to Kaisheim Abbey as a sub-priory.
During the secularisation of Bavaria in 1803 the priory was dissolved; the nuns' church became a parish church. In 1806 Carmelite nuns from Munich and Neuburg an der Donau moved into the premises as a joint nunnery. In 1838 the Visitandines, also known as Salesian Sisters, bought it, and established a girls' school here. In 1981 the Pielenhofen Primary School, a boarding school of the Regensburg Cathedral Choir, replaced the earlier school. In 2010 the five remaining nuns moved to the community of the Visitandines at Zangberg.
The Baroque church has two towers of three storeys, two aisles and a transept, under a cupola in the centre. The church contains a late Baroque high altar with eight columns. The ceiling with a depiction of the Holy Trinity is by Jacob Carl Stauder. The pictures of the twelve apostles are by Johann Gebhard of Prüfening Abbey.
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.