Kloster Kemnath

The foundation of Kemnath Monastery took place in 1658, following a request from the Kemnath city magistrate for the establishment of a Franciscan monastery. Elector Ferdinand Maria of Bavaria and the Bishop of Regensburg, Franz Wilhelm von Wartenberg, granted approval. In May of the same year, the first Franciscan friars and lay brothers moved in. As the original site was insufficient for a monastery church, an adjacent garden was acquired. The laying of the foundation stone for the monastery building occurred in November 1660, and by July 1662, the monks were able to move into the new building. The construction of the church followed and was solemnly consecrated in May 1665, with the patronage of Saint Anthony of Padua being established at the request of Electress Henriette Adelheid. The Franciscans were deeply involved in pastoral care, supporting rural parish priests, conducting missions, and staging passion plays. For a long time, they were also entrusted with the care of the pilgrimage chapel on Armesberg. The St. Anthony Brotherhood, founded in 1693, soon numbered over 600 members. In July 1758, a fire destroyed the monastery and the church, but thanks to donations and support, the building was restored within three years. The secularization ended the monastery's existence in 1802. The monks were forced to leave Kemnath and were distributed to other monasteries. The monastery church was desacralized, and parts of its furnishings found new homes in surrounding churches.

The former Kemnath Monastery is located in the town of Kemnath in the district of Tirschenreuth, in the state of Bavaria, Germany.

Following the dissolution of the monastery in 1802, the buildings and church were repurposed. The monastery library, which had grown to 3579 works after the 1758 fire, was disbanded. The statue of the Sorrowful Mother of God was transferred to the parish church of Kemnath, while other parts of the church's furnishings, such as the high altar, organ, and pulpit, found new homes in the churches of Erbendorf and Waldershof.

• Kaibitz Castle (Castle, approx. 2981 m away)
• Unterschönreuth Castle (Castle, approx. 2994 m away)
• Schlackenhof Castle (Castle, approx. 3202 m away)
• Waldeck Ruin (Ruin, approx. 4223 m away)