Foundation The abbey was founded in 1279 by Count
Otto III (IV) of
Weimar-Orlamünde. Through his mother
Beatrix, the Orlamünde had received from the inheritance of the
Andechs-Meranians the dominion of
Plassenburg, to which the village of Pretzendorf also belonged. Otto had Pretzendorf castle converted into an abbey. In addition to the castle and the village of Pretzendorf, Otto gave the abbey the surrounding fields, meadows and forests as well as the villages of Hardt, Nemhards and Boschendorf. The area belonged to the
Bamberg diocese, whose bishop at that time was
Berthold von Leiningen. The foundation deed of 28 December 1279 states as the purpose of the foundation that Otto wanted to hand down his memory to posterity and do something for the salvation of his soul. The foundation letter also mentions the name Himmelkron for the new abbey. However, the transfer of this name to the village of Pretzendorf did not take place until the 16th century. In addition to representatives of the local nobility, personalities who clearly show the connection to the monasteries of Sonnefeld and Langheim are listed as witnesses. These included the founder of the Sonnefeld abbey
Heinrich II von Sonneberg, the magister Brother Gottfried from Sonnefeld and the abbot of
Langheim Abbey, who continued to accompany the development of the Himmelkron abbey as a visitator. The first nuns of the newly established abbeys probably came from
Sonnefeld Abbey, the nearest branch of the Cistercian nuns. Tradition names Otto's daughter
Agnes as the first
abbess. However, because of the long period between the foundation of the abbey in 1279 and her death in 1354, and because Agnes is not mentioned in the foundation letter, it is assumed that there was at least one other abbess or
prioress in the early days of the abbey.
Further development For the period from 1398 to 1547, the landlordship of the abbey can be recorded as a nearby scattered estate. It extended in the south into the Bayreuth area and bordered in the southeast on the
Warme Steinach. While in the southeast the
Red Main formed another natural border, there were possessions in the surroundings of
Thurnau beyond that. In the north, the landlordship ended at the
Schorgast. In the northeast there were possessions in
Stammbach,
Mussen and up to the
Hof area. The history of the abbey can mostly only be traced through war events or major building activities of the abbesses. In 1430, during the
Hussite wars, the Hussites came to the area and, among other things, burned down nearby
Kulmbach. However, no major damage to Himmelkron abbey has been recorded. Thus, no major reconstruction work was mentioned in the aftermath and many works of art survived the time. The abbesses
Elisabeth von Künsberg (1460–1484) and
Magdalena von Wirsberg (1499–1522) developed a lively building activity, of which armorial stones and inscriptions still bear witness. Elizabeth's most important building project was probably the construction of the
cloister with its many artistic elements in 1473. Magdalena extended the abbey church by a wing. These two building phases were interrupted by the time of
Margaret von Zedtwitz (1484–1499), when the abbey suffered from difficult economic conditions. Abbey buildings became ruinous and the cultivation of the lands succeeded only incompletely. The part of the
Margraviate of Brandenburg-Kulmbach called Oberland was less affected by the
Peasants' War from 1524. Apparently some rebels gathered in
Bayreuth, but the damage to the abbey, e.g. the theft of a silver cross, remained minor, and no persons were harmed. Also in the
Second Margrave War, looting resulted only in some losses from the
inventory.
Downfall In the time of abbess
Apollonia von Waldenfels, the Reformation moved into the region and found favor among the population and the clergy. Margrave
George, an early follower of
Martin Luther, forced conversions to Protestantism and allowed a forcible expulsion of nuns from Himmelkron and Hof unless they accepted the new denomination. The
Bamberg bishop Weigand of Redwitz lodged a complaint about this with the
Swabian League in 1529. However, the development could not be stopped. The margrave-friendly preacher Johannes Behaim, who was appointed in Himmelkron, criticized Abbess Apollonia and Prioress Dorothea von Wirsberg from the pulpit. The last abbess of Himmelskron,
Margarethe von Döhlau, was appointed in 1544 under
Albrecht II. Alcibiades. This gave the margrave the opportunity to impose conditions on the abbess for her conduct of office and to gain insight into life in the abbey and its furnishings. As early as 1545 Margarethe was deposed as abbess and provided with a pension. The income of the abbey was now to be used to maintain Princess Barbara (died 17 June 1591), a cousin of Albrecht who had previously stayed at the
Heilsbronn abbey. In 1548 Margarethe was reinstated as abbess; she converted to
Protestantism. The number of nuns decreased to two by 1560. Margarethe eventually converted part of the convent into a school for noble girls. The school existed only until the end of the 16th century, and at last it also accepted commoners and boys.
Abbesses Lists of the abbesses of Himmelkron abbey were compiled by Johann E. Teichmann in 1739 and by Pastor Theodor Zinck in 1925. Both named 16 abbesses and began their list with
Agnes von Weimar-Orlamünde. There are sparse references to further abbesses, their names are partly unsecured. Thus Wieland was able to name a "Lawke" and a "Leukardis", who succeeded Katharina von Schaumberg according to parish registers, in a document of 27 June 1401. In the founding phase of the abbey it can be assumed that another abbess or administrator was already active before the minor Agnes. Similar to the tradition of the founding period of the
Hof abbey, the focus on Agnes as the last member of the family group could have originated. Wieland mentions from a document of the Sonnefeld abbey from 15 September 1287, a "Rihze" and for 1357, thus after the death of Agnes, a "Reitzgk II." The abbesses came from local noble families, the ruling Counts of Orlamünde and the
Burgraviate of Nuremberg who succeeded them. Thus there are parallels to the development of the nearby
Clarissan abbey of Hof, see
List of abbott of Hof. Only a few of the nuns are known by name. claims to have seen the graves of the two children in the Himmelkron abbey himself. == Church ==