Žiče Charterhouse
Description
The Žiče Charterhouse was a Carthusian monastery or charterhouse in the narrow valley of Žičnica Creek, also known as Saint John the Baptist Valley after the church dedicated to John the Baptist at the monastery near the village of Žiče (German: Seiz, formerly Seitz) in the Municipality of Slovenske Konjice in northeastern Slovenia.The charterhouse was founded between 1155 and 1165, and was the first Carthusian monastery in the German sphere of influence of the time, and also the first outside France or Italy. The monastery also had one of the first pharmacies in what is now Slovenia.The monastery was abolished in 1782, but the buildings survive or are being recreated.HistoryThe Žiče Charterhouse was founded between 1155 and 1165 by Ottokar III of Styria, the Margrave of Styria, and his son Duke Ottokar IV of Styria, of the house of Traungau, both of whom were buried there. The monastery was settled by Carthusian monks from the Grande Chartreuse in France (Ecclesia Maior), which also financed the construction, led by Master Aynard, and influenced the arrangement of the premises. As with French charterhouses, two monasteries were built here: the upper one (the Žiče Charterhouse), where the cloister monks lived according to the strict rule of the Carthusians; and the lower one in the village of Špitalič for the lay monks, who spent less time in prayer and worked as craftsmen, supporting the upper monastery and contributing to its prosperity. The monastery church dedicated to Saint John the Baptist was consecrated on 24 October 1190 by Patriarch Berthold of Aquileia.
Tell your friends
Quiz
