Nunneries of Upper Lusatia between spiritual and secular power in the 16th and 17th century

Out of the various religious and church structures of Upper Lusatia, the presented thesis focuses on the local women's religious Catholic houses, on the Cistercian convents of Marienthal and Marienstern, and the penitent sisters of Mary-Magdalene's convent in Lauban and on their domains. The period of interest is mostly 16th and 17th century. These abbeys are the only catholic institutions which have survived up to this day in the mainly protestant area. The introductory debate about monasteriologic research and about the possibilities of applying modern historical methods to the field are followed by an overview of the research dedicated to the area - both from the local and general German, or even Czech point of view. Careful analysis of the utilised resources follows. In assessing the factors that allowed the coexistence of institutions firmly tied to the Catholic Church and of the Protestant majority, it was first necessary to investigate the role of convents in the local society and to explore the earlier pre-reformation events. For the existence of monasteries of traditional orders was, in the early modern era, determined just as strongly by politics, (church) administration and by social and economical factors, as it was by its coexistence with protestantism. The existence was often continuous, tied..