Published: 2025-11-17

The Dissolution of Monasteries in Gdańsk in the First Half of the 19th Century – Background, Course of Events, and Consequences

Sławomir Kościelak
Saeculum Christianum. Historical Writings
Section: Rozprawy i Artykuły
https://doi.org/10.21697/sc.2025.32.2.15

Abstract

The dissolution of three old-style Gdańsk monasteries was announced by the restrictions and limitations of the post-partition period. The Dominican and Carmelite monasteries were already being considered for liquidation in 1806. The Napoleonic period thwarted these intentions for some time. Ultimately, the liquidation of Gdańsk monasteries was carried out in accordance with Prussian cabinet regulations from 1810 and 1816 in the years 1817-1835. This process was monitored by the Prussian state authorities. The real estate was sold off in several stages, most intensively in the years 1824-1827 and 1837-1840. The procedure of extinguishing (extinction) and relocation of members of Gdańsk religious convents was completed earliest in relation to the Carmelite monastery (1828). The remaining convents were dissolved in 1835, but the last of the nuns, a Bridgettine, died only in 1855. The churches of the former convents were used to establish a new parish network in Gdańsk in 1840. The former convent buildings were taken over by the army and partially demolished. The new buildings erected in place of the demolished ones partly served the needs of the parish, but above all, the buildings erected here were used to support the Gdańsk garrison. The course of the dissolution of the Gdańsk convents can be considered typical for such a process, due to the specificity of the place (a large city, complicated financial status of the convents, needs of the garrison and diocesan structures), however, it was significantly extended in time.

Keywords:

monasticism, West Prussia, Church in Pomerania, shaping of urban space, military

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Kościelak, S. (2025). The Dissolution of Monasteries in Gdańsk in the First Half of the 19th Century – Background, Course of Events, and Consequences. Saeculum Christianum. Historical Writings, 32(2), 193–206. https://doi.org/10.21697/sc.2025.32.2.15

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