1121 9 0 0 Y E A R J U B I L E E 2021

Park – Magdeburg - Strahov

Dear Prelates, dear confreres, dear sisters,

Greetings and blessings from Rome-Generalate.

In my Christmas letter 2016 I wrote to all houses, that the new established “900-years-Prep-Commission” has his first meeting in August 2016, to make the first brain-storming about our Order’s jubilee 2021. Meanwhile there was end of January 2017 a special meeting in Strahov, Prague, with a group of specialists, who prepare the EXHIBITION 2021 on the three for us very famous locations: the abbey of Strahov in Prague, CZ, a Museum in Magdeburg (“Städtisches Museum Mittelalterlicher Kunst”), G, and the abbey of Park, Leuven, B. On all three places this EXHIBITION will be organized for three month with a common basic part of the Order’s history and a more specific part with the focus on the local tradition and regional characteristics. It is still the plan to work together for an EUROPEAN Project in three countries (Czech Republic, Germany and Belgium), to play on a high international level and to look for European subsidies and supports. The financial question is important, but there is hope to request and acquire financial support from different sources, cooperators and sponsors as well.

The first concrete step was a concept for an international exhibition-project “FIDES ET PATIENTIA – a nine hundred years of the Premonstratensian Order” with the main purpose:

‘To show the originals of beautiful and important exhibits in context. To show our history, tradition and spirituality makes it necessary to present reference objects, “which will recall in various ways this key topic over the changing years’.

Topic themes of this exhibition are (in a first draft):

- the world of Norbert: Europe around 1100

- the age of founders: Prémontré – Magdeburg – Strahov

- life in the Order – the Life of the Order: time and space

- the Library – weapons of the spirit and of knowledge

- Premonstratensian heaven

- our treasures

- in the storms of the time: reformation, revolution, secularization

- a new world

- the Premonstratensians/Norbertines today.

To bring our houses and Canonries which their rich tradition into the project and to reduce the costs, we will ask all houses, especially in Europa, but also worldwide, to look for exemplary objects for this exhibition. What we can show from us, what we can make available for this exhibition or for one of these three places, this would be a great help and an enormous enrichment.

This could be pictures, portraits, engravings, documents, letters, Pontificalia, books, manuscripts, liturgical vestments and utensils (chalice, relics, monstrance …), what you think to present as valuable “ZIMELIA” of your house treasure and canonry tradition.

So I will ask you, the prelate and his council, your archivist and librarian, the rector of the church and the custodian, whoever is responsible in your house, to look for appropriate and suitable objects and to make a list with the help of this blank (look in the attachment) for as first description of your exhibition object.

We are aware that in the preparation for this exhibition there is much more to provide and organize in regard to your precious things and objects, the security, the assurance, the form of packing and sending, the protection (light, humidity ..) and the guarantee of the uninjured existence, the time of availability …

But with your help we can come to a first oversight about objects from the Order in addition to the possibilities which we can find in Strahov, in the Museum in Magdeburg und in Park with all the houses of Brabantia.

I appeal on your generosity and solidarity, to make this exhibition to a great success, to help, that we can present our Order in a high qualified and solid show and exhibition with a good catalogues and an optimal presentation our history, our tradition and our mission for today and tomorrow.

From Park comes a special idea, to make this exhibition to a platform for dialog between the Past and tradition of the Norbertine Order and the people of today, between our Norbertine Order with the visitors of our time, especially the young generation, that our Order has a vision and a mission for the future – from out the inspiration of St. Norbert and from out the genius loci of Prémontré and in consequence of Park – Magdeburg – Prague and many other Premonstratensian places.

Please help us with the best objects of your house and Canonry – in the exhibition-didactic regard and as an original and unique investment for our Order in the future. It would be a great help for the organizers to send your lists till end of march 2017

to Frau Dr. Gabriele Köster, Magdeburg g or

to P. Evermod Sidlovsky, Abtei Strahov

Rom, 22.02.2017

+ Thomas Handgrätinger OPRAEM

Abate Generale

Objektbogen Exponate/Objectsheet exhibits

Objektbezeichnung
Object description
Standort / Location
Inventar-Nr. / Inventory-Nr. (sofern vorhanden/if available)
Objektgattung
Object type
Datierung / Dating
Material
Funktion d. Objekts
Function oft he object
Herstellungsort / Fundort
(falls bekannt) / Place of manufacture/Location (if known)
Künstler (falls bekannt)
Artist (if known)
Literatur / literature
Ausstellungen bei denen Objekt ggf. zu sehen war
Exhibitions where object possibly was seen
Bemerkungen /Remarks