Sonnefeld Abbey

Sonnefeld Abbey is a former Cistercian nunnery in Sonnefeld in Bavaria, Germany. The former abbey church, or Klosterkirche, is now an Evangelical Lutheran parish church.

The nunnery, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, was founded in 1260 by Henry II von Sonneberg and his wife Kunigunde. Initially it was located in Ebersdorf bei Coburg but after a fire in 1287 it was moved to Hofstädten, where the abbey with its surrounding settlement and district adopted the name "Sonnefeld". . The landowner was the Prince-Bishop of Bamberg, Berthold of Leiningen, who was trying by means of the monastic foundation to stop the territorial advances of the Counts of Henneberg. The spiritual leader was the Bishop of Würzburg. The settlement was made by nuns from Maidbronn Abbey. The endowment included the nearby villages of Frohnlach and Ebersdorf. In 1262, the abbots of Ebrach and Bildhausen inspected progress and arranged for recognition by the Cistercian Order.

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