Filiation: Morimond-Ebrach
Foundation: 1132/33
Resolution 1803
As a branch of Ebrach monastery, founded in 1127, Langheim was at the beginning of the Cistercian expansion movement in Europe. Subsidiary foundations included Plasy in the Czech Republic. Situated in the valley of the Leuchsenbach, the monastery focused on forestry, fish farming and trade with important city courts in Bamberg and Kulmbach. The construction of the Vierzehnheiligen pilgrimage church created a landmark in the Upper Main Valley.
Langheim Monastery existed for 670 years from 1132/33 to 1802.
It was closely linked to the Bamberg diocese, which was founded in 1075. In the early days, the bishopric’s support was still in the foreground, but disputes followed over a long period of time. Neither the desired immediacy of the empire nor the establishment of a territory could be achieved.
St. Catherine’s Chapel, dating from the early 13th century, is one of the oldest surviving gate chapels in German Cistercian monasteries. The quarries to the north of the monastery should also be mentioned. Numerous buildings were erected from these, so they can easily be attributed to the monastery’s work. The seven preserved or visible ponds in the immediate vicinity of the monastery can also be linked to this. Hardly any building erected by the Cistercian Abbey of Langheim is as famous as the Basilica of Vierzehnheiligen, built according to plans by Balthasar Neumann. The loss of central monastic buildings in Langheim due to secularisation gives today’s Klosterlangheim a village-like character. The architectural treasures here lie hidden, such as the unusually generously designed beer cellar from the 16th century or the still preserved fish box.
With the still largely preserved and magnificently developed farmsteads and official residences in Trieb, Hochstadt, Bamberg, Giechkröttendorf, Kulmbach and Tambach, as well as the architecturally almost unique Nassanger farm, the Langheim monastery landscape has remarkable ensembles to offer.