Dreaming of monks and forgotten cloisters? Here we are, standing before the Gartenpavillon des ehemaligen Augustinerklosters. This pavilion is a whisper from Würzburg’s past. It is a fragment of a once-grand Augustinian monastery.
Let’s journey back to the early 13th century. Imagine Augustinian monks arriving in Würzburg in 1262. They first stayed with the Dominicans. In 1263, Bishop Iring von Reinstein-Homburg granted them permission to settle. They purchased a citizen’s courtyard. Next to the courtyard was St. George’s Chapel. It belonged to devout hermits since 1137.
The Augustinerkloster St. Georg slowly took shape. Construction was slow due to funding. They used St. George’s Chapel for services. In 1288, they received the chapel. They also got a hermitage as a gift. They gradually expanded the property. From 1275, a new church was under construction. The Georgskapelle was integrated. The church took over its patronage.
The church was simple and early Gothic. It had twelve altars. The high altar was dedicated to St. Augustine and St. George. The choir extended over an arch toward the street. The monastery building formed a square. A vaulted cloister occupied the ground floor. The church was consecrated on November 1, 1302. The tower of St. George’s Chapel was demolished in 1320.
The church saw baroque restyling later. Prince-Bishop Johann Gottfried von Guttenberg commissioned Antonio Petrini. Petrini was to redesign it in the Baroque style. In 1688, the Gothic choir was demolished. This created more space for passage. The church was reoriented westward. A new facade was added on Augustinerstraße. The foundation stone was laid on May 12, 1688. Consecration followed in 1691.
The monastery’s end came with secularization. In 1813, the Augustinian hermits found a new home. It was in the dissolved Dominican monastery. The old monastery church was dilapidated. So it was demolished in 1824. The early Gothic portal was preserved. It was kept in a museum but destroyed in World War II. The former monastery housed a school. Only the Gartenpavillon des ehemaligen Augustinerklosters remains. It stands on the police parking lot.
Attributed to Joseph Greissing and built between 1710 and 1715, this single-story structure is defined by its open, arched design. The Gartenpavillon des ehemaligen Augustinerklosters once offered respite and reflection. The pavilion features a hipped roof. Its facade is strongly structured with pilasters. Today, it stands as a protected monument.
Since the police building’s renovation in 2017, the Gartenpavillon des ehemaligen Augustinerklosters has been open to the public. Inside, displays tell the area’s history. There is also information about the police. A memorial stone stands here again. It commemorates the old Augustinian monastery and Luther’s visit in 1518. It once stood on Augustinerstraße.
The Gartenpavillon des ehemaligen Augustinerklosters serves as a reminder. It evokes the Augustinian monastery’s rich history. The Augustinerstraße is named after the monastery. As you stand here, imagine the echoes of monastic life. Consider the transformations this space has witnessed. The Gartenpavillon des ehemaligen Augustinerklosters is more than a structure. It is a portal to Würzburg’s layered past.