Stift Nonnberg (Nonnberg Abbey), Salzburg, Austria

Stift Nonnberg, Salzburg
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2208_-_Salzburg_-_Stift_Nonnberg.JPG
Author: Andrew Bossi


Stift Nonnberg, or Nonnberg Abbey, is a Benedictine nunnery in Salzburg, Austria. The hill on which it sits, Nonnberg, means "nun's hill". Stift Nonnberg was founded in 714 by St Rupert, who is also credited with establishing Salzburg during that time. St Rupert's niece, St Erentrude, was the Mother Superior of the nunnery. Her tomb can be seen in the crypt of the nunnery church. Stift Nonnberg is said to the the oldest religious institution for women in the German-speaking world.

The convent and church were enlarged in the 11th century by Emperor Henry II. Unfortunately a fire that happened in 1423 burnt down most of the buildings. What we see today dates back to the 15th century, after a new convent was built to replace it. A new church building was built and devoted to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and to St Erentrude. The tympanum above the door has a motif of the Virgin Mary accompanied by John the Baptist and Sr Erentrude.

Stift Nonnberg appears on the Austrian Nonnberg Abbey commemorative coins which were issued in 5 April, 2006.

The late-Gothic main altarpiece of the church is a treasured masterpiece of Stift Nonnberg. It is said to have been produced from the sketches done by Albrecht Dürer, the famous German painter from Nuremberg. Behind the altar is a stained-glass panel by Peter Hemmel, a renowned stained-glass artist of the late-Gothic style. The original Romanesque frescoes can still be seen in the niches of the church.

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