Mariastern Abbey, Banja Luka
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| Monastery information | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Opatija Marija Zvijezda |
| Order | Cistercians of the Strict Observance |
| Established | 1869 |
| Diocese | Banja Luka |
| Controlled churches | Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary |
| People | |
| Founder(s) | Franz Pfanner |
| Site | |
| Location | Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Coordinates | 44°48′24″N 17°13′29″E / 44.80667°N 17.22472°ECoordinates: 44°48′24″N 17°13′29″E / 44.80667°N 17.22472°E |
Mariastern Abbey (Serbo-Croatian: Opatija Marija Zvijezda) is Trappist abbey in Bosnia and Herzegovina, situated near the country's second largest city Banja Luka. It consists of the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the monastery of Trappist monks. It is the only Trappist monastery in Southeastern Europe. At the beginning of the 20th century, with 219 monks, the Abbey was the largest Trappist abbey in the world; today it is the smallest, with only two monks.
The building of the complex of the Mariastern Abbey in Banja Luka is associated with the arrival of the trappist Franz Pfanner in Bosnia. After 23 months of unsuccessful attempts to set up a Trappist monastery in Hungary, Croatia and Lower Styria, and on learning that a law had been passed in Turkey allowing the Christians to buy land, Pfanner came to Banja Luka, where on 10 June 1869 he bought 100 acres of land in Delibašino Selo near Banja Luka for the sum of 1.400 ducats. On 21 June 1869, the Trappists came to the plot of land they had purchased in Delibašino Selo. This is thus regarded as the date on which the Mariastern Abbey was founded.
The Trappists made themselves temporary accommodation in a wooden hut. Nine Trappist brothers lived there and they called this shed the cradle. Inside the shed were two wooden barrels in which the Trappists kept their books, breviary, ink and paper. They remained in this hut until 7 July 1869.
On 27 June 1869 Pfanner chose the site for the construction of the monastery beside the Vrbas River, so as to be able to use its waterpower. During the construction of the temporary monastery, Pfanner faced a number of problems with regard to the registration of the land he had purchased. Pfanner called the temporary monastery Mariastern as an expression of gratitude to the old Mariastern Cistercian convent in Saxonian Lausitz, which gave a gift of 2,000 florins for the purchase of the land. The Trappists lived in the temporary monastery from 7 September 1869 to 24 December 1870. On 7 March 1870 Holy See confirmed the new establishment and the Apostolic vicar, Paškal Vujičić gave his consent. After moving into the temporary monastery, the Trappists started to erect other buildings. Immediately after moving into the temporary monastery, the Trappists started to prepare the construction site for building a larger monastery according to the plans made by Pfanner himself. In late 1869, before Christmas, Pfanner travelled to Rome to obtain permission to build a new monastery. Two days later a rescript arrived from Rome for the establishment of a monastery, with a clause from Propaganda requiring the Trappists to build an orphanage as soon as possible. The orphanage was opened on 1 March 1878.
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