Mariastern Abbey, Banja Luka

Mariastern Abbey

Monastery information
Other names	Opatija Marija Zvijezda
Order	Cistercians of the Strict Observance
Established	1869[1]
Diocese	Banja Luka
Controlled churches	Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
People
Founder(s)	Franz Pfanner
Site
Location	Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Coordinates	44°48′24″N 17°13′29″E / 44.80667°N 17.22472°E / 44.80667; 17.22472
Other information
KONS of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Official name	Church of the Mariastern Trappist Monastery (Church of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary) with movable property in Banja Luka (historic monument)
Type	cultural and historical as well as natural heritage
Criteria	A, B, C i.ii.iii.iv.v.vi., D i.ii.iii.iv.v., E i.ii.iii.iv.v., F i.ii.iii., G i.ii.iii.iv.v.vi.vii., H i.iiii., I i.ii.iii.iv.
Designated	7 May 2004
Reference no.	06/1-2-1007/03-7
List of National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Mariastern Abbey (Serbo-Croatian: Opatija Marija Zvijezda) is a Trappist abbey in Bosnia and Herzegovina, situated near the country's second largest city Banja Luka. It consists of the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the monastery of Trappist monks. It is the only Trappist monastery in Southeastern Europe. At the beginning of the 20th century, with 219 monks, the Abbey was the largest Trappist abbey in the world; today it is the smallest, with only two monks.

In 2004, KONS has declared the abbey Church of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary a National monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina.^[2]