The collegiage church, Himmelkron
Between convent and hunting lodge
In the cloisters, angels playing on traditional instruments tell the story of the former convent church in gothic works of art, intricately carved from sandstone. The abbess of the Cistercian nunnery, Elisabeth von Künßberg, had this masterpiece built in 1473. Her gravestone is to be found in the church amongst the many slabs there, some of them very valuable and artistic.
The angels on the ceiling of the church, far less delicate than those in the cloisters, are evidence of the baroque alterations. Margrave Christian Ernst had the church redesigned by his architect Antonio della Porta after 1698. The heavy stucco ceiling was made by Bernardo Quadri , whilst the pulpit altar with the four Evangelists is the work of the court sculptor Elias Räntz. They carry open books on which are written the words of communion. Compared to the angels on the altar, the figure of the risen Christ seems small.
In the convent church museum in the former nuns‘ choir, there are late medieval works of art, an embroidered wall hanging of 1621 which belonged to Margrave Christian, and the processional cross used at the burial of Georg Friedrich Karl. It was his son Friedrich who had the cloisters demolished when he converted the nunnery into a hunting lodge – all except for the wing with the angel musicians.
Discover
the church.
The collegiage church
Klosterberg 8
95502 Himmelkron
Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun 08:00-18:00
This church is currently not open to the public.
Open from April until October.
Evang.-Luth. Pfarramt Himmelkron
09227 5577
pfarramt.himmelkron-lanzendorf@elkb.de
kirchengemeinde-himmelkron.de
Explore
the surroundings.
It's worth going a little bit further: many churches lie on lovely cycle, walking and pilgrim paths. You will find an overview of them in the following map, as well as places worth seeing nearby. It also has links to local area, church and tourist information websites.
Bike tracks, pilgrim paths and hiking trails close to The collegiage church:
Tour 13: “Rund um Schloss Himmelkron” 47 km
Visit places of interest near The collegiage church:
Visit the
events.
Find more events on the church's website or the Evangelische Termine portal (Evangelical events portal).