Monastery county

Aerial view of the monastery

View of the main building (today the motherhouse of the Borromean Sisters)

The Grafschaft monastery is located in the Grafschaft district of the city of Schmallenberg in the Hochsauerlandkreis . From 1072 to the secularization in 1803/04 it was a Benedictine abbey . In the early days, the spiritual life was based on a variant of the Cluniac reform . After a period of decline, it was forcibly reformed at the beginning of the 16th century as part of the Bursfeld congregation . Economically, it experienced an upswing from the 17th century, which in the 18th century formed the basis for a completely new construction of the monastery. In 1804 the monastery was closed. Not used monastically from the 19th century to the middle of the 20th century , the complex has been home to Borromean women since 1948 . As the successor community of the Silesian Congregation, Grafschaft is today a motherhouse of this order. The order runs the monastery Grafschaft specialist hospital there as a specialist lung clinic.

middle Ages

Foundation phase

In 1072 the Grafschaft monastery was founded by the Archbishop of Cologne, Anno II, as the Benedictine Abbey of St. Alexander. The name of the monastery indicates that Anno dedicated the monastery to St. Alexander . There is no reliable evidence of the reasons for this.

The establishment was something new in that the older monasteries in the old Duchy of Saxony , to which the monastery in Meschede belonged, were predominantly foundations of the nobility. In Grafschaft, as in the founding of Bishop Meinwerk of Paderborn at the same time , this no longer played an active role. The archbishop acquired the property in a document from a widow Chuniza and her son Tiemo. Chuniza was at times also associated with the Wallburg am Grafschafter Wilzenberg , and is often counted among the Gisonos . After the foundation, a three-aisled church in the basilica style was built with a west tower and a three-aisled crypt in the east.

Anno II with models of monasteries he founded, including Grafschaft ( Vita Annonis Minor until 1803 in Grafschaft monastery since then in the Darmstadt University and State Library )

The first monks came from the abbey in Siegburg, which was also founded by Anno . The first abbot Luitfried was presumably appointed by Anno and not elected. The spirit of cluniac reform in the Siegburg form was formative in the founding phase . The Siegburg variant of the reform differed from the Cluny model in that none of the monasteries should have a priority. The county was not in any way subordinate to Siegburg. Another characteristic was that the foundations based on the Siegburg model were not directly subordinate to the Pope, but remained embedded in the diocesan association. For the county this meant that the "libertas coloniensis" Annos granted the brothers free elections to abbot and bailiff, but the abbots were obliged to attend the Cologne diocesan synod and remained subordinate to the bishop. In addition, the chosen abbot needed confirmation from the archbishop. Compared to the monastery reform of Gorze , according to which the abbots were to serve at the court of the princes, this was not provided for in the Siegburg model. This had different consequences. Initially, Grafschaft were spared the burdens and costs associated with court service. At the same time, it meant that the monastery could hardly play an independent role politically. Ultimately, St. Alexander was an episcopal monastery . The close connection to Anno is also shown by the fact that the monks prayed for numerous members of his family after their death, as the entries in the monastery’s book of the dead show. The monastery rights went so far that Anno and his successors had the right to dispose of the monastery property. The relationship between monastery and owner changed over time. A strong bond between the county and the respective archbishop remained.

The secular protection of the monastery as well as the secular jurisdiction in the area of ​​the monastery property exercised a Vogt . Since 1166 these were the Counts of Dassel . Their work is reflected in the monastery coat of arms. The deer antlers were the distinctive feature of the coat of arms of the Counts of Dassel. In 1232 they sold the bailiwick rights to the Counts of Arnsberg. With the sale of the county of Arnsberg in 1368, the archbishops of Cologne became the owners of the bailiwick.

The Untervogtei owned a nobleman Gerhard von Hachen in 1166 . Since the beginning of the 13th century this office was in the hands of the noblemen of the county . They were based in Norderna Castle in Nordenau near the Kahler Asten . After the branch of the noble lords of Grafschaft died out, Kaspar von Fürstenberg succeeded in gaining hereditary bailiff rights. From 1573 until the abolition of the monastery, various members of the von Fürstenberg family took over the lower bailiwick.

Deed of incorporation

The charter of founding possibly not from the time of Annos II

There were repeated scientifically founded doubts about the authenticity of the foundation deed. On the other hand, there is no doubt as to the correctness of the founding date and the further content, especially since there is an unequivocally genuine confirmation of the rights and possessions from the time of Archbishop Friedrich I von Schwarzenburg .

During a critical examination, the historian Johannes Bauermann came to the conclusion that the document cannot actually come from the time of Anno. Particularly noticeable about the Anno document from allegedly 1072 is the last line in which various tithe rights are listed. Apparently another hand was at work here. Furthermore, the differences in the spelling of the place name Belecke in the document text (Badelecche) and in the last line (Badelike) stand out. Badelecche is a much older spelling of the place name Belecke, while the spelling Badelike is typical of the 13th century. This is also confirmed by Johannes Bauermann's analysis, who puts the last line paleographically after 1200. A connection with disputes over tithe rights between the Count of Arnsberg and the Archbishop of Cologne, which can be documented for Warstein, can be assumed as the historical background .

Material basis

The founding of the monastery in Grafschaft had political motives as well as religious reasons. Like his successors, Anno tried to secure and expand Cologne's political and ecclesiastical influence in the Sauerland. With the founding, the archbishops acquired a narrow secular territory between the domains of the noble lords of Bilstein and the counts of Arnsberg. In the Schmallenberg area, the monastery was also of considerable importance as it oversaw twelve churches and chapels. When the Grafschaft monastery was founded, many Sauerland farms, hamlets and villages were first mentioned. Were mentioned in documents Attendorn , Bödefeld , Bredenol , Bruns Kappel , Gleidorf , Glindfeld , Hemer , Herntrop , Hershey , Holthausen (Wüstung southeast of Medebach) Osterfelde ( Kallenhardt ), Lenne , Lenninghof , Lüdenscheid , Nuttlar , Plettenberg , Rüthen , Schmerlecke , Sorpe , Valbert , Velmede , Werntrop , Westfeld , Wormbach , as well as farms near Belecke .

The tower of the abandoned monastery church from the 12th century. The tower dome dates from the 17th century

Johann Suibert Seibertz interpreted the charter to mean that the monastery had been given the entire area of ​​about five square miles belonging to the county ( grass , grass , cap ). The self-portrayal of today's monastery also contains this version. In the 20th century, Albert K. Hömberg had justified doubts about this and argued that the term locus Grascaft used in the document only meant the place of the same name. This last interpretation is now the state of research. The Westphalian monastery book names the place Grafschaft as an area of ​​monastery immunity. Brunskappel, Kirchrarbach and Oberkirchen were given as church fiefs to bailiffs . There was also extensive real estate between Hemer and Lüdenscheid to Schmerlecke am Hellweg. In addition, the deed of foundation placed the churches in Wormbach, Attendorn, Lüdenscheid, Valbert, Herscheid, Hesselbach, Hemer, Kallenhardt, Velmede, Bödefeld, Brunskappel and Altenrüthen under the monastery. The possessions in the area of ​​the County of Mark were lost at the latest during the Reformation. Replacement was partially provided by the establishment of branch churches from the area of ​​the old primeval parishes of Wormbach and Altenrüthen.

The monastery received farms for the supply and maintenance of the brothers in numerous villages in the area, but also in Hemer , Nuttlar, Lüdenscheid and Attendorn. Thanks to the good material resources, a larger number of monks could be supported than in other monasteries, and Anno hoped that the brothers would take care of the spiritual life intensively without any economic worries.

Right from the start, the monastery owned two vineyards in the Rhineland near Bacharach and Linz . After secularization, they passed into the possession of the von Fürstenberg family and are now part of the Schloss Fürstenberg estate.

Development up to the late Middle Ages

In the early days, life in Grafschaft as well as in Siegburg was unusually strict for conditions in the German-speaking area, as Lampert von Hersfeld reported. Prayer fraternities existed with the monasteries in Gladbach , Deutz and possibly also Nonnenwerth .

In the first years of its existence, there were disputes with the Meschede monastery about the land dean's office Engeren (Angria), which stretched from Brilon to the border of the Archdiocese of Mainz. Archbishop Friedrich decided in 1101 against Grafschaft. The close connection to the Cologne archbishops led to the county under the oppositional politics of Friedrich von Schwarzenburg , the archbishop of Mainz , and Lothar von Supplinburg against Henry V had to suffer. In 1114 troops loyal to the emperor attacked the monastery under the Reichsbannerträger and Oberlahngau Count Giso IV ; it was badly damaged in the process.

Panoramic view of the entire monastery complex. You can also see the gatehouse and the adjoining former farm buildings.

In the following years the monastery was rebuilt and it flourished for a long time. The fact that Grafschaft housed a convent of at times eighty brothers in the 12th century speaks for its importance. During the reconstruction of the monastery church, emphasis was placed on remembering St. Anno. A statue of Ann was part of the main altar, and a side altar was consecrated to St. Benedict as well as Anno.

In the long run, an important turning point was the division of the monastery's income between the abbot and the convent under Abbot Widukind von Wittgenstein (from 1258 to 1272). Since then, one third of the income has been due to the abbot and two thirds to the convent. During Widukind's tenure, property worth mentioning was also transferred to the Wittgenstein family (including the transfer of Berleburg in lease), which considerably weakened the monastery’s financial situation. In 1272 the building was almost completely destroyed by fire, which contemporaries interpreted as a divine punishment. Under Abbot Gottfried von Bilstein , the abbey was then rebuilt and, at least in part, reorganized.

In the upper Sauerland, Grafschaft was able to expand its spiritual influence in the following years. In 1294 the monastery transferred its main courtyard in Glindfeld to the Augustinian convent in Küstelberg . For this, the nuns undertook to choose their provost from the Grafschaft monastery. Three years later, on March 12, 1297, the Archbishop of Cologne, Wigbold von Holte , commissioned the Grafschafter abbot to move the Augustinian nuns from Küstelberg monastery to the Augustinian monastery in Glindfeld .

A spiritual highpoint in the history of the monastery was the transfer of an arm relic of St. Anno II (1391) from the Siegburg monastery in the 14th century . The Archbishop of Cologne Dietrich II von Moers consecrated a chapel and an altar in the entrance hall of the church in 1444 in honor of the Archangel Michael and the Holy Angels. This later demolished chapel served as the burial place of the noblemen of the county.

The monastery received noteworthy donations in the 13th and 14th centuries, and the abbots managed to largely preserve the property. Nevertheless, the financial situation worsened again because the simple monastic way of life was increasingly being displaced in favor of a worldly lifestyle. The abbots, in particular, hardly cared about their spiritual duties, but increasingly led the lives of secular masters. A sign of the decline was that the brothers wrote wills, although according to the monastery rule they were actually not allowed to have personal property. In addition, it had become customary to swear when entering the monastery, instead of taking a vow of poverty, that one agreed to the division of property between the abbot and the convent. However, unlike in other monasteries, the brothers were not accused of excessive or other immoral behavior. The changes also included the fact that the monastery's courtyards were no longer managed by lay brothers , but were leased. The tenants often did not pay their dues on time or in full. Due to the difficult economic situation, Archbishop Wigbold von Holte limited the number of monks to 24 in 1304 in order to secure the maintenance of the monastery.

Relationship between the monastery and town of Schmallenberg

The monastery played an important role in the development of Schmallenberg beyond its own history, as Schmallenberg Castle was built towards the end of the 12th century primarily to protect the abbey. From the settlement in the shadow of the "Smalenburg", today's city emerged.

To collect the taxes, the monastery in Schmallenberg, like in Warstein , had a branch with a feudal chamber and tithe barn. There was no jurisdiction over the city, as Grafschaft had leased it to the noblemen of Bilstein . When the city was fortified with a wall in 1243, the monastery contributed to the costs. But in contrast to Hömberg's earlier research, the historian Manfred Wolf argues that the monastery was not the city lord of Schmallenberg. However, with the upswing of the city, there were repeated conflicts with the abbey. The right to fill the pastor's position has long been controversial. This problem worsened after 1507, when the monastery began to appoint friars rather than secular priests as pastors in the city. Other conflicts arose from the monastery and city's right to use the forests. There was also a dispute over pasture, fishing and similar rights .

Manuscripts

Initial from a manuscript of the Grafschaft monastery

To commemorate the founder of the monastery, Anno, the abbey received a precious handwriting from its mother monastery in Siegburg in 1186, which is now known as Vita Annonis Minor . Other authors assume that the script came to Grafschaft in the 14th century.

But manuscripts with artistic initial ornamentation were also created in Grafschaft itself . In Darmstadt today there is about a volume with various saints' lives from the end of the 11th or beginning of the 12th century. A composite manuscript from the second half of the 12th century has also been preserved. This includes, among other things, a Hrabanus-Maurus commentary on parts of the Old Testament as well as the letter from the Archbishop of Magdeburg, Adalgot , which was sent to various recipients as a call for a crusade against the Wende . An Apophthegmata Patrum (i.e. a collection of the father's sayings), also in Darmstadt today, can be dated around 1150. The Grafschafter handwriting of this oldest evidence of monasticism differs from others in language, selection and arrangement.

In the opinion of today's experts, the Grafschafter manuscripts are not among the highlights of book art of their time, but are certainly classified as remarkable works. However, this no longer applies to the works that were created in the course of the 13th century. A gospel book written in Grafschaft during this time was of poor quality. This could be an indication of a decline in the initial spiritual pursuit. A total of 22 manuscripts from the high and late Middle Ages as well as from the 16th and early 17th centuries are preserved in Darmstadt from Grafschaft, including six palimpsest manuscripts . In addition, there are other writings from originally other monasteries.

Early modern age

Crisis and reform

Entrance to the gatehouse with the monastery coat of arms and the welcome greeting "May the triune God in heaven bless those entering and leaving."

In the 15th century, the monastery became almost entirely a supply institution for the descendants of the regional nobility. The declining reputation of the institution, but also economic reasons, meant that the number of brothers continued to decrease. In 1507 the Grafschaft monastery housed only seven monks. Archbishop Hermann IV of Cologne therefore tried to reform the institution comprehensively. The monks were accused of having had private property. In addition, the customs in the convention had been completely ruined. However, recent research paints a more nuanced picture. After that, the poor economic situation also had to do with the archbishop's high demands for money. It is true that some monks actually had privately owned goods. But it was an attempt to save properties from the Archbishop's grasp. Properties were sold to straw men, from whom monks then acquired them and thus protected them from the archbishop's access. Incidentally, when he reformed monastic life, he was also concerned with eliminating the previous far-reaching independence from episcopal instructions.

The remaining monks from the previous period had to leave the monastery. They received a pension or became pastors. The reform was to be implemented by the newly appointed Abbot Albert of Cologne together with a new convent made up of members of the Brauweiler monastery . After the archbishop's death, on October 30, 1508, the former abbot Peter von Dörenbach took possession of the monastery again with noble friends and former monks. The new brothers initially fled. The new convent was only able to assert itself after Dörenbach had been driven out by the archbishop's troops.

The change in personnel was associated with a social change in the composition of the Convention. From then on, the monks no longer came from the lower nobility, but from middle-class and peasant families.

The reforms were to be secured by the abbey joining the Bursfeld Congregation in 1508 , an amalgamation of reform monasteries of the late Middle Ages. In addition to cultivating the liturgy , the Congregation focused on intensive scientific study and a strict monastic order of life. The congregation was linked by a system of mutual checks and visitations. At the general chapter of 1510 it was determined that the county was to be visited by the abbots of the Abdinghof and Boke monasteries . The county itself was subordinated to the Odacker Benedictine Monastery in 1513 . The results of the visitations have not always been positive for the county. A special visitation ordered by the General Chapter in 1514 took offense at the way of life of the monks. In the following years, too, there was repeated criticism. In 1518, for example, the allegation was that the Grafschaft monastery did not adhere to the rites laid down by the congregation and had also hindered the visitors. In 1520 and 1522 Abbot Albert was even threatened with his suspension.

Grafschaft was also involved in this system of checks and balances. In the 17th century , the abbot Emericus Quincken was elected as a visitor by the general chapter several times. He later served as co-president of the congregation's leadership.

But the incorporation into the congregation did not prevent the monastic discipline from loosening again. In addition, during the Reformation some of the inhabitants of the places belonging to the monastery leaned towards the new faith. This led to Abbot Heinrich Steinhoff von Würdinghausen resigning his office and giving up without a pension.

Turning to mining and the iron industry

Reliquary cross of St. Karl Borromeo (Italy, mid-16th century, silver, partially gilded, wood) in the Museum Kloster Grafschaft in Schmallenberg

The rights and income of the community were newly regulated and documented in the so-called Rolla antiqua of 1515. By the end of the 16th century, the number of monks slowly increased again to ten. Nevertheless, the financial situation remained difficult. This went so far that around 1600 the archbishop considered closing the monastery. One reason for this was not only mismanagement in the last few centuries, but there were also structural causes. The agricultural crises of the 14th and 15th centuries had a heavy burden on the community. This led to the monastery becoming over-indebted; the following generations could not pay off the debts either.

The brothers tried to reduce their dependence on basic rent and agricultural income by setting up commercial enterprises. An iron trade is documented up to the 16th century. In 1590 the ironworks and hammer mills of the monastery were exempted from all taxes by the archbishop. The iron hammers on the rivers Lenne and Sorpe, operated by water power, were among the monasteries . The monastery also built a smelter near Obersorpe . Another ironworks was at Latrop . During this time it contributed to the boom in mining and the iron industry in the Sauerland. The center of Grafschafter mining was the area around Silbach in the 18th century . There the monastery had six lead and iron ore mines alone. Further lendings by the Mining Authority in Brilon were made for Siedlinghausen , Bigge , Niedersfeld , Medebach , Dreislar , Altenbüren and Schmallenberg.

One of the monks was responsible for the trade and had the overall supervision. The huts themselves were leased, the monastery, as a publisher, reserved the accounting and bookkeeping of the individual facilities, while the tenants had to procure raw materials and pay workers. The situation was similar at the hammer mills.

The income from the trade was quite considerable. The hut in Obersorpe, together with the hammers in Mittelorpe, brought in around 100 Reichstalers a year in profit in the 17th century . In an account book, between 1787 and 1790 a total of almost 4,700 Reichstaler and for 1790 to 1791 even almost 7400 Reichstaler were given as income from the iron trade. Compared to the competition of bourgeois trades, the monastery had the advantage that the charcoal, as by far the most expensive cost factor, could be obtained in its own forests.

Recovery since the 17th century

Part of the former cloister , today the inner corridor in the motherhouse of the Borromean Sisters

Monastery wall from the 17th century

Closter Graff works 1653

In order to ward off a possible closure, the monastery elected a foreign abbot for the only time in its history in 1612. Abbot Gabel Schaffen from Abdinghoff Abbey was elected because he had an excellent reputation as a monastery administrator. Creation began with a clever rescheduling campaign. He took out new loans and used them to redeem the pledged farms belonging to the monastery. With the income flowing again, the debts accumulated over centuries could be quickly paid off. Largely spared from the devastation of the Thirty Years' War , the financial situation of the monastery began to improve significantly under his leadership and that of his successor Johannes Worth. Create caused by the contact of arable that the claims on income were backed by written documents.

Beyond the material level, Schaffen brought about a new reform of monastic life by strictly setting the daily routine on the Regula Benedicti .

Within the monastery, the creative measures were successful, but they also met with some resistance. His opponents even planned a poison attack on him. The preparations for the attack were discovered prematurely. The three monks involved were sentenced to life imprisonment in the St. Pantaleon monasteries in Cologne, Brauweiler and Maria Laach .

The upswing was evident in the expansion of the monastery library. Numerous new books were acquired at the time of creation. A catalog of acquisitions lists a total of 271 new acquisitions for the period between 1580 and 1631. The majority of the books were theological in the broadest sense. There were also ancient authors such as Terenz , Virgil and Horace , but also geographical and economic works. The library was not yet remarkable, but sufficient for the needs of the brothers, as Aegidius Gelenius judged. The historian Kurt Hans Staub, who evaluated the 1972 catalog of acquisitions, assessed the collection quite differently. According to him, in the 17th century, the library contained a collection of the most important theological works that had appeared since the Council of Trent . The Hessian repeal officer, who took stock of the monastery property after the Duchy of Westphalia passed to Hessen-Darmstadt in 1802, also found a large number of books.

A characteristic of the boom in monastic life was that the Congregation for Rites in Rome granted abbots the right to wear a miter in 1632 . The new prosperity became visible not least in extensive construction activity. From 1616 onwards, some farm buildings were built and a wall was drawn around the monastery. In 1625 a new apartment was built for the abbot and the guests. In 1626 an infirmaria (hospital) was set up and a chapel was consecrated there in honor of Saint Roch. In 1629 the tower was given a baroque dome . Abbot Worth had his own library building built.

Outwardly, the increased focus on pastoral care led to conflicts in the Schmallenberg area. This led to renewed clashes with the city. Attempts to find a compromise on the occupation of the Schmallenberg parish were unsuccessful. Last but not least, this conflict caused parts of the Schmallenberg citizenship to tend towards the Protestant faith at times. The dispute between the monastery and the city did not end until 1683, when the Werler Official Court granted the monastery unrestricted patronage rights.

New construction of the monastery

Baroque main entrance to today's motherhouse with the monastery coat of arms above the door and the statue of St. Anno in the gable field

Under Abbot Ambrosius Bruns , the construction of the new, still existing monastery began in 1729. On May 19, 1729, the abbot laid the foundation stone for the monastery and the corner stone for the winery. The abbey was completely rebuilt by the master builder Michael Spanner between 1729 and 1742. The exterior decoration of the building (portals, window niches, figures) from Rüthener green sandstone was mainly made by Melchior Klug . Between 1738 and 1743 Spanner built the new monastery church; between 1744 and 1757 it received new fittings. Almost the entire inventory of the old demolished church went to the Grafschafter provost church in Belecke, which was rebuilt at the same time . The inventory included the magnificent main altar from 1665, donated by Ferdinand von Fürstenberg , the richly decorated columns and figures by the sculptor Johann Sasse from Attendorn and the 211 × 187 centimeter large valuable Christmas picture by the famous Baroque painter Johann Georg Rudolphi . The consecration of the new church did not take place until 1747 by Abbot Ludwig Grona . Many craftsmen and artists from Dillenburg, Münster, Würzburg, Paderborn and the Sauerland contributed to the creation. Numerous skilled workers came with the architect Spanner from Saxony. Since many craftsmen and workers returned to their homeland in winter, construction was suspended during this time.

Later the farm buildings were rebuilt between 1765 and 1787 by Ignatius Gehly and Johann Diederich Einhäuser. The gatehouse was rebuilt in 1770. The entire complex was now largely in a baroque style.

The church was built as a three-aisled hall church and was considered the most beautiful church in the Sauerland region of Cologne. The old tower of the previous building with the abbot's chapel was retained by being integrated into the new building. Under the choir was a crypt with an altar and tomb vaults. A master Peters from Warstein made baroque choir stalls with sixty seats as well as a pulpit and confessionals. The locksmith Kaspar Störmann from Schmallenberg created the elaborate lattice separating the monks' choir from the nave. The wood sculptor Johann Heinrich König took care of the plastic decorations on the pulpit and the cross altar. The organ was built by Johann Philipp Seuffert from Würzburg. In addition to the main organ, there were two other organs. In addition to five side altars, the carpenter Christoph Volmar from Geseke built the main altar, which was completed by the sculptor Johann Theodor Axer from Paderborn and the painter Honck. In addition to the baroque elements, the church had numerous Rococo works . In particular, the sculptural decoration was one of the style-defining elements of Westphalian sculpture of that time.

Plan of the monastery from 1832

A three-winged cloister was attached to the church in the south . To the west of the church was the abbot's apartment. An archive building was attached to it. The brewery and the schnapps distillery were located under the abbot's apartment, and the monastery guest house was located in the west wing of the complex. The main entrance, which was decorated with the coat of arms of the monastery and a statue of St. Anno, was located there, framed by economic buildings. The winery and refectory were housed in the south wing . Above it was a large hall used for meetings. The hospital ward and the convent school were on the ground floor. The prior's apartment was in the same wing . In the middle of the wing was the entrance intended for the brothers with the figure of St. Benedict above the door. The sacristy , chapter house and library were housed in the east wing . The monks' dormitory was on the first floor .

The interior of the monastery and church were decorated with pictures by the painter Dehne from Dillenburg. They were representations from the Holy Scriptures, a banquet of Herod, a representation of the rich Prassers, a picture of Saul and David and similar works. For the guest house, Dehne created pictures to glorify the Benedictine order. There were also pictures of the monastery and its possessions. Numerous other paintings depicted the abbots of the monastery, popes, apostles and martyrs from the history of the order.

The Grafschaft monastery had a certain importance for the spread of the baroque style in Westphalia, especially in the districts of Meschede, Brilon and Lippstadt, through the production of baroque sculptures in the monastery under the direction of lay brothers or in the immediate vicinity of the monastery by local artists.

Structure of the Convention

Ludwig Grona , abbot from 1742 to 1765 (painting painted 1742 by Dehne from Dillenburg in the Grafschaft monastery)

Towards the end of the 17th century, the Monumenta monasterii Graffschektivenis was a monastery chronicle. It was started in 1697 by the monk and later provost of Belecke Caspar Hilgenhövel at the instigation of Abbot Emericus Quincken and continued by three other scribes until the monastery was abolished. In addition, a list of monks and abbots was created during this time, which contains information on all conventuals up to 1803. This Catalogus Abbatum et Fratrum Monasterii Sancti Alexandrei lists the abbot, the prior and the subprior as leading monastic offices. Since the abbots did not attach great importance to a university education for the novices , there was not only a novice master but also a lecturer in philosophy and theology for the instruction. The Cellerar was entrusted with the administration of the community and its property. The Culinarius was responsible for the supply of food and its preparation. A Spindarius was responsible for distributing alms. An infirmar looked after the sick and the old. The sacristan was responsible for organizing the services. A cantor provided the singing during the liturgy. There was also an archivist.

According to the catalog, other offices were assigned outside the monastery. This included the appointment of a provost in Belecke , as well as the filling of chaplain and pastor posts in various parishes. In addition, from 1639 a priest was appointed as confessor for the Benedictine monastery Odacker near Warstein and for other women's convents. In addition, teachers were deployed at various village schools. There were also administrators for the monastery's own ironworks in Silbach and Latrop.

According to the catalog, the brothers came from the dioceses of Cologne , Paderborn , Münster , Osnabrück , Fulda and Trier . The vast majority, however, came from the Duchy of Westphalia and the neighboring areas. Paderborn was most frequently named as the place of origin , followed by Schmallenberg, Warburg and Westernkotten . Brilon , Erwitte , Geseke , Rüthen , Belecke , Münster , Trier and Winkhausen were named more than three times .

In the reporting period of the catalog, the monastery usually had a steady stream of offspring. At times the influx was considerable. In each eleven years, four to six new novices entered the convent. On average, between 1631 and 1803, a new brother joined each year. The average age of the novices was between 18 and 20 years, the average age at death 58 years.

Between the late 17th century and the beginning of the 19th century the number of brothers never fell below thirty, at times it was forty and in 1746 even fifty conventuals were counted. Even at the beginning of the 19th century, there was no question of a lack of young people and an aging population. In 1801 four new brothers were accepted. The average age of the thirty monks in the year of the abolition was 44 years.

From the Seven Years War to secularization

The monastery was badly affected by the effects of the Seven Years' War . The community had to make large contributions . The complex was looted, the monks fled into the woods, and the graves were desecrated. After a period of poverty, the community was able to recover. Under Abbot Friedrich Kreilmann from Erwitte, a new economic building was built for the monastery's own economy, and the last war damage was removed from the entire complex. Nevertheless, the community had not recovered from the effects of the war until the abolition of the monastery.

The farmyard in particular was badly damaged by fires in 1788 and 1798. However, this had no major impact on monastic life. The end of the monastery began with the transition of the Duchy of Westphalia to Hessen-Darmstadt in 1802. In this context, most of the monasteries in the duchy were dissolved. On October 26, 1803, the monastery passed into civilian ownership. The last thirty-two brothers were allowed to celebrate the name festival of their patron, St. Benedict , on March 21, 1804. The monks then had to leave the monastery. However, they received a state pension.

Grafschaft monastery here with the monastery church (drawing around 1830)

Kloster Grafschaft after the demolition of the church

When it was abolished, the monastery owned about 1,000 acres . The building complex and the associated properties were initially owned by the Hessian state. After the region was transferred to Prussia, it became a Prussian state domain. In 1827 ownership passed to the Barons von Fürstenberg . The sale without the forest ownership brought the state 36,000 thalers. The von Fürstenberg family still owns the monastery today. The large church had been offered to the county county as a parish church. Since the municipality could not afford the high maintenance costs and the von Fürstenberg also shied away from the costs, the baroque church was demolished in 1832 with the exception of the tower, which dates back to the Middle Ages. On the site of the church, the north wing of today's complex was built in 1962. Some of the building material from the demolished church was used to build the Catholic parish church of St. Burchard in Oedingen .

The works of art from the monastery church ended up in other Sauerland churches. The altar came first to Attendorn and then to Fröndenberg . The pulpit and the confessionals came to the provost church in Arnsberg. Another pulpit came to Geseke, the church organ, completed by organ builder Johann Philipp Seuffert in 1747, came to Frankenberg and the remaining registers later to the Banz monastery . The statues of the apostles came to the St. James Church in Winterberg . Many works of art came through the relocation of the former abbot to Belecke. The cross altar, one of the five side altars, came into the Catholic Exaltation of the Cross Church according to knowledge . Parts of the high altar are even in the distant St. Barbara Church in Büddenstedt in Lower Saxony. Much was also scattered and in recent years the sisters who now reside in the monastery have been able to acquire some of them again.

The archive, which was systematically organized in 1772, was first transferred to the archive depot in Arnsberg after 1804 and then to the Münster State Archive in the middle of the 19th century , where most of the archive material is still stored today. The Hessian Landgrave Ludwig I had the most valuable manuscripts removed . Today there are still 22 Grafschafter manuscripts in the Darmstadt University and State Library . After secularization, part of the library with the last abbot came to Belecke and from there to the library of the Archbishop's Academy in Paderborn . Another part went to the government library in Arnsberg, which allegedly left it to the Bochum University Library as initial equipment. Individual pieces are in various neighboring parishes.

Re-establishment as a monastery of the Borromean Sisters

In the monastery museum

In addition to the agricultural operation, the monastery buildings were used in various ways in the 19th and 20th centuries. The local pastor of Grafschaft still had the right to live there. In the complex there were temporarily classrooms of the village school and apartments of the teachers. During the National Socialist era , a school camp was set up in the monastery . Plans to set up a teacher training college there were well advanced. The renovation work had started, but was not completed due to the war. During the Second World War , around 40 bombed-out families from the Ruhr area found shelter. In addition, the monastery building, spared from the bombing, was used to store endangered art and cultural assets. Part of the holdings of the museums of the cities of Düsseldorf and Dortmund , the Essen local history museum and parts of the archive of the city of Dortmund are stored there . Large companies hoarded goods in short supply in the monastery. 43,000 bottles of cognac alone were stored in Schmallenberg. At the end of the war, the building was damaged by acts of war.

A new beginning of monastic life began after the Second World War . The expulsion of the German population from Silesia also affected the Borromean Sisters of the Trebnitz congregation. The order's leadership had managed to lease the Grafschaft monastery for them. In 1948, under initially primitive circumstances, the first sisters came to the county. They received a lease from the Fürstenberg house and later a long lease that was favorable for the sisters. With a guarantee from Baron von Fürstenberg, the Borromäerinnen received the first funds to repair the building. The currency reform , which largely devalued the money that had been collected in the meantime, was a serious setback . At times the sisters wanted to give up, but decided to continue the work. They restricted themselves further and did more heavy physical work. When the first construction phase was finished in 1950, Archbishop Lorenz Jaeger inaugurated the monastery with a ceremony.

In the following decades, in addition to the new motherhouse for the congregation, the Grafschaft monastery specialist hospital and later also a nursing home for sisters were built. There are two chapels in the mother house. A large chapel in modern style is used for services and prayers of the hours. The Anno chapel with relics of the monastery founder in the monastery tower, the oldest part of the complex, serves as a place of quiet contemplation .

From 1951 to 1983 Elisabeth Schache managed the fortunes of the former Silesian congregation as Procurator General. To this day, numerous other redesigns and new constructions have been carried out on the buildings in compliance with monument protection.

The sisters also maintain a small museum in the monastery. Inside are some liturgical implements, vestments , relics and other religious works of art from the time of the old monastery; After the Borromean settlement was established, they came back to the county by purchase or donation. There were also pieces from the past of the sister community.

The Benedictine Abbey of Königsmünster in Meschede, founded in 1956, has consciously placed itself in the Grafschaft tradition . She not only adopted the deer antlers from the Grafschaft coat of arms, but the monks also worked out a necrology for the Grafschafter brothers to commemorate them in prayer on the day of their death.

Abbots of the monastery

Plan of the monastery Grafschaft and the affiliated specialist hospital

From 1072 to 1804, 35 abbots ran the Benedictine abbey.

• Liutfried was the first abbot of the monastery. He probably came from the Siegburg monastery and was abbot from 1072 until his death (after June 6, 1115).
• Wigbert was probably abbot from 1137 until January 19, 1141
• Benedict was abbot around 1140
• Otto was abbot around 1145
• Willicus was abbot around 1160
• Siegfried was abbot around 1168
• Uffo was abbot from 1170 to February 16, 1176
• Harwicus was abbot around 1194
• Adolf was abbot from 1214 to June 23, 1238
• Widukind von Wittgenstein was abbot from 1258 to November 14, 1272
• Gottfried von Bilstein was abbot from 1272 to 1285
• Luitbert von Rödinghausen was abbot from 1290 to 1301
• Widukind II was attested as an abbot in 1322
• Gottfried von Padberg was abbot from 1325 to May 25, 1343
• Theodorich von Schnellenberg was abbot from 1344 to May 27, 1391
• Arnold von Beringhausen was abbot from 1402 to May 4, 1404
• Rötger von Schade was abbot from 1404/1434 to March 9, 1469
• Hermann von Visbecke († April 20, 1484 or 1489) was abbot from 1472 to 1483
• Peter von Dörenbach († February 11, 1524 in Schmallenberg) was abbot from 1489 to August 19, 1507
• Albert of Cologne († October 18, 1525 in Cologne) was abbot from August 29, 1507 to October 18, 1525
• Jacob Müller von Alboem (* probably before 1500; † October 28, 1549) was abbot from 1525 until his death
• Matthäus Müller von Arpe († October 28, 1551) was abbot from 1549 to April 29, 1551
• Rotger under der Linden was abbot from 1551 to 1584
• Heinrich Steinhoff (* around 1540 in Würdinghausen; † October 20, 1611 in Grafschaft) was abbot from April 8, 1585 to 1609
• Gottschalk von Dael († October 14, 1612) was abbot from 1609 to September 1612
• Gabel Gobelinus Schaffen (* 1582 in Warburg; † May 10, 1650 in Abdinghof) was dept. From September 27, 1612 to 1633
• Johannes Worth (* 1604 in Rietberg) was abbot from June 8, 1633 to April 10, 1671
• Godfried Richardi (* 1629 in Oberberndorf ; † April 9, 1682) was abbot from April 22, 1671 to April 9, 1682
• Emericus Quincken (* 1639 in Schmallenberg) was abbot from June 9, 1682 until his death September 18, 1707
• Beda Weller (* 1656 in Brunskappel) was abbot from October 5, 1707 to May 14, 1711
• Coelestin Höynck (* 1659 in Arnsberg) was abbot from June 9, 1711 to October 25, 1727
• Ambrosius Bruns (* 1678 in Borcholz) was abbot from November 17, 1727 to August 21, 1730
• Josias Poolmann (born January 10, 1687 in Oetteler / Waldeck) was dept. from September 12, 1730 to October 7, 1742
• Ludwig Grona (born January 29, 1700 in Borchen near Paderborn) was abbot from November 6, 1742 to August 7, 1765
• Friedrich Kreilmann (* 1719 in Erwitte) was abbot from September 10, 1765 to September 16, 1786
• Edmund Rustige (born February 14, 1746 in Erwitte; † June 21, 1816 in Warstein) was the last abbot from October 17, 1786

literature

• Friedrich Albert Groeteken : The Benedictine Abbey Grafschaft, the parish Grafschaft and its daughter community Gleidorf. Volume II / 3 from the history of the parishes of the dean's office in Wormbach, Bad Godesberg 1957
• Karl Böekler: Historical communication about the former Benedictine Abbey Grafschaft , located in the Duchy of Westphalia , in the Association for History and Antiquity of Westphalia (ed.): Journal for patriotic history and antiquity of Westphalia, seventeenth volume, p. 214 ff. (Google Books) , Münster, 1856
• Monika Eisenhauer: Monastic reforms of the 15th century as a means of constructing and consolidating law, the state and the constitution. The St. Alexander Monastery in Grafschaft and the implementation of theoretical designs in the sense of Thomas Aquinas , Berlin 2016, ISBN 978-3-643-13615-2
• Karl Hengst: Westphalian monastery book , part 1, Münster 1992, pp. 362-370.
• Fritz Hofmann: Schmallenberg in the church history of the Sauerland . In: Contributions to the history of the city of Schmallenberg. 1244-1969. Schmallenberg 1969, pp. 99-108
• Karl Hopf : Grafschaft (Dynasten and Monastery) , p. 213 ff. (Google Books) in JS Verlag, JG Gruber: General Encyclopedia of Sciences and Arts, First Section, A – G, Brockhaus, Leipzig, 1864
• Géza Jászai (Ed.): Monastic Westphalia. Monasteries and monasteries 800–1800. Münster 1982.
• Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy of St. Charles Borromeo, mother house Kloster Grafschaft (ed.): Kloster Grafschaft, 1072–1804. Written documents on culture and history; Catalog for the exhibition of the museum in Grafschaft Abbey, July 9 - September 5, 2004 . Schmallenberg 2004, ISBN 3-00-013946-X
• Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy of St. Charles Borromeo, mother house Kloster Grafschaft (ed.): Kloster Grafschaft. Then and now . Self-published, undated
• Roswitha Lehmann: Monastery Grafschaft and St. Anno. Special print. Siegburg 1975
• Monumenta Monasterii Grafschaftensis. Memories from the history of the county monastery . Translation from Latin by Manfred Wolf, Münster 1975
• CF Mooyer: The Abbots of the County Convent. In: Journal for patriotic history and antiquity. Vol. 19/1858
• Otmar Plaßmann: Baroque art in the Sauerland: picture manual . Cologne 2005, (Writings of the Museum im Kloster Grafschaft), ISBN 3-00-016859-1
• Slate mining and local history museum Holthausen (ed.): Klosterschicksale , On the history of the secularized monasteries in the Kurkölschen Sauerland, 2003
• Johann Suibert Seibertz : The Grafschaft monastery and its first bailiffs , p. 69 in the regional and legal history of the Duchy of Westphalia, AL Ritter, 1845
• Lea Steinbrücke / Michael Hermes: Directory of the abbots and monks of the St. Alexander Monastery in Grafschaft (1598–1853) . In: Südwestfalenarchiv, year 2004, pp. 23–134.
• Josef Wiegel (Ed.): Grafschaft. Contributions to the history of the monastery and the village . County 1972. Therein u. a .:
  • Johannes Bauermann : The Grafschafter foundation documents. Critical Studies. Pp. 9-52
  • Hans-Joachim Kracht: The foundation of the Grafschaft abbey by Archbishop Anno II of Cologne and the Siegburg reforms . Pp. 53-64
  • Ders .: The Bursfeld Reform and the St. Alexander Abbey in Grafschaft . Pp. 65-76
  • Kurt Hans Staub: A book directory of the Benedictine abbey Grafschaft from the first half of the 17th century . Pp. 83-94
  • Hermann Knaus: Grafschafter manuscripts in Darmstadt . Pp. 95-106.
  • Manfred Wolf: Grafschaft monastery and the city of Schmallenberg . Pp. 153-172
  • Hans Ludwig Knau: About the iron industry activity of the Grafschaft monastery in the area of ​​the upper Lenne at the end of the 18th century . Pp. 173-198.
  • Horst Becke: The end of the Grafschafter Abbey Church in a critical view . Pp. 199-212.
  • Motherhouse of the Borromean Sisters: The Grafschaft Monastery since it was taken over by the Borromean Sisters . Pp. 227-232.
  • Hans-Joachim Kracht: The abbots and monks of the Benedictine Abbey of St. Alexander in Grafschaft. Sources and references. Pp. 293-312.
• Karl Tücking: History of the abbey county. In: Sheets to the closer customer of Westphalia ›Jg. 14.1876› 1. and 2. Issue digitized
• Frenn Wiethoff: Schmallenberg and Grafschaft Monastery . In: Schmallenberger Heimatblätter October 1965, pp. 1–3, December 1965, pp. 2–4
• Manfred Wolf: Schmallenberger Sauerland Almanach 1990, History of the Grafschaft Monastery , published by the Westphalian Slate Mining Museum Schmallenberg-Holthausen
• Manfred Wolf: The archive of the former Grafschaft monastery. Documents and files. Regional studies series for the Sauerland in Cologne. Publications from the Arnsberg, Brilon, Meschede and Olpe districts. Vol. 4. Ed. From the Meschede district. Arnsberg 1972.
• Manfred Wolf: Secularization using the example of the Grafschaft monastery . In: Ingrid Reissland (Hrsg.): From the electoral Cologne crook to the Hessian lion to the Prussian eagle. Secularization and its consequences in the Duchy of Westphalia. 1803-2003. Arnsberg, 2003, ISBN 3-930264-46-3 , pp. 99-107

Web links

Commons : Kloster Grafschaft  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Sources and archives (on GenWiki)
• Directory of documents from 1072 to 1727

Individual evidence

1. ↑ on this: Hans-Joachim Kracht: The holy Alexander - patron of the abbey church of Grafschaft, In: Grafschaft, contributions, pp. 77-82
2. ^ Wolf, History of the Grafschaft Monastery, p. 142, Brief History of the Grafschaft Monastery from www.grafschaft-schanze.de
3. ↑ on the relationship between Grafschaft and Anno in detail: Roswitha Lehmann: Kloster Grafschaft und St. Anno. Special print. Siegburg, 1975
4. ^ Kracht, Foundation of the Grafschaft Abbey, pp. 57–60, Wolf, Geschichte des Klosters Grafschaft, p. 142
5. ↑ Nathalie Kruppa: The Counts of Dassel 1097-1337 / 38. Publishing house for regional history, Bielefeld 2002, pp. 228/229.
6. ↑ Bernd Kirschbaum: Gerhard Kleinsorgen (1530–1591): A historian in Westphalia in the early modern period. BoD, 2005 p. 31 , on the Vogtei: Sale of the Vogtei 1232
7. ^ Bauermann, Grafschafter foundation documents, in: Grafschaft, contributions, p. 49f., See Enste: Warsteiner Geschichte
8. ^ Fritz Hofmann: Schmallenberg in the church history of the Sauerland. In: Contributions to the history of the city of Schmallenberg. 1244-1969. Schmallenberg, 1969. p. 101, Hengst, Klosterbuch, p. 363
9. ^ Frenn Wiethoff: Schmallenberg and Grafschaft monastery. In: Schmallenberger Heimatblätter, p. 1, 3rd edition, October 1965
10. ↑ Schmallenberger Sauerland Almanach 1997, village and monastery Grafschaft celebrate 925th anniversary , p. 227 Georg Brand / Franz-Bernhard Wienecke, ed. Westfälisches Schieferbergbaumuseum Schmallenberg-Holthausen
11. ^ Albert K. Hömberg: Between Rhine and Weser, The Wilzenberg near Schmallenberg. Münster, 1967 p. 263, Johann Suibert Seibertz : Diplomatic family history of the dynasts and lords in the Duchy of Westphalia . Arnsberg, 1855. P. 73 Digitized version in Seibertz, Landes- und Rechtsgeschichte
12. ↑ ^{a b} Hengst, Klosterbuch, p. 363.
13. ^ Lehmann, Grafschaft Monastery, p. 199, Wiethoff, Schmallenberg and Grafschaft Monastery, p. 1
14. ↑ Grafschaft monastery (ed.): Grafschaft monastery, once and now , p. 10, self-published by Grafschaft monastery, printed by Grobbel-Verlag, Fredeburg
15. ↑ Joachim Wollasch: Benedictine monasticism in Westphalia from the beginnings to the 12th century. In: Monastisches Westfalen, p. 24, Hengst, Klosterbuch, p. 363.
16. ↑ Manfred Wolf, Schmallenberger Sauerland Almanach 1990, History of the Grafschaft Monastery , p. 143, Westphalian Slate Mining Museum Schmallenberg-Holthausen (ed.)
17. ^ Seibertz, Family History of the Dynasts and Lords in the Duchy of Westphalia, p. 39
18. ^ Wolf, History of the Grafschaft Monastery, p. 143
19. ↑ Wolf, Geschichte des Kloster Grafschaft, p. 143, Kloster Grafschaft, once and now, p. 8, Kracht, Bursfelder Reform und Kloster Grafschaft, p. 68
20. ^ Carl Haase, Contributions to the History of the City of Schmallenberg (1244–1969), p. 21
21. ^ Wiethoff, Schmallenberg and Kloster Grafschaft, p. 1f., Wolf, Kloster Grafschaft and the city of Schmallenberg, p. 153
22. ^ Monastic Westphalia, p. 570
23. ^ Wolf, History of the Grafschaft Monastery, p. 143, Monastisches Westfalen, p. 569f., Harm Klueting: Monastery libraries in Westphalia, Cologne. In: Monastisches Westfale, p. 520, see: Knaus, Grafschafter Handschriften, p. 95–105
24. ↑ Monika Eisenhauer: Masked Reality and Words of Deception. The reform of the Grafschafter monastery from a conceptual perspective. In: Sauerland 4/2019 pp. 14–16
25. ^ Friedrich Albert Groeteken: History of the ancient parish of Wormbach, p. 66, Volume II, Part I, Rheinische Verlagsanstalt and Buchdruckerei, Bad Godesberg, 1939 and Tücking, History of the Grafschaft Abbey, p. 15
26. ^ Kracht, Bursfeld Congregation and Monastery Grafschaft, pp. 70–73
27. ↑ Grafschaft Monastery, then and now, p. 10
28. ↑ Reinhard Köhne: With lead gloss against the mountain of debt. In: Schmallenberger Sauerländer Almanach 2006. P. 119, Wolf, Geschichte des Klosters Grafschaft, P. 144, Knau, iron trade, P. 173–192
29. ^ Wolf, History of the Grafschaft Monastery, p. 144.
30. ↑ Klueting, monastery libraries, p. 521f., See Staub, book directory, p. 83–92, Hermann-Josef Schmalor: The Westphalian collegiate and monastery libraries up to secularization. Paderborn 2005. pp. 164-169
31. ↑ Manfred Wolf, Schmallenberger Sauerland Almanach 1990, History of the Grafschaft Monastery , p. 146, Westphalian Slate Mining Museum Schmallenberg-Holthausen (ed.)
32. ↑ Wolf: Monumenta Monasterii Grafschaftensis. Memories from the history of the Grafschaft monastery, p. 172, translation from Latin, Münster 1975
33. ↑ Franz Klanitz, in the footsteps Grafschafter art, Schmallenberg Sauerland Almanac 1990, p 149, Westphalian slate mining museum Schmallenberg-Holthausen (ed.)
34. ↑ Magdalena Padberg: "A splendid round intonation" The adventurous journey of an organ from the Sauerland. In: Yearbook Westphalia '89. Münster, 1989 pp. 65-70
35. ↑ Grafschaft Monastery, then and now, p. 17
36. ↑ on building history and architecture see: Klaus Püttmann: Westfälische Klosterarchitektur der Barockzeit, In: Monastisches Westfalen, pp. 493–495
37. ^ Wolf, History of the Grafschaft Monastery, pp. 146f.
38. ↑ Schröder, Albert: The importance of the Grafschaft monastery for Westphalian sculpture of the 17th and 18th centuries. WZ 85 / II, pp. 126–192; 1928.
39. ^ Josef Wiegel: Emericus Quincken - an important Grafschafter abbot from Schmallenberg ; Schmallenberger Heimatblätter, 39th / 40th edition, December 1974, p. 19 ff. Münster State Archives: Monastery Grafschaft, files 543 (545)
40. ↑ Steinrücke / Hermes, p. 27
41. ^ Wolf, History of the Grafschaft Monastery, pp. 147f.
42. ↑ on this in detail: Manfred Wolf: The secularization using the example of the Grafschaft monastery. In: Ingrid Reissland (Hrsg.): From the electoral Cologne crook to the Hessian lion to the Prussian eagle. Secularization and its consequences in the Duchy of Westphalia. 1803-2003. Arnsberg, 2003, ISBN 3-930264-46-3 , pp. 99-107
43. ↑ Handwritten notes by the teacher Anton Mönig called Davids (1782–1862) from Schmallenberg from 1858
44. ↑ Grafschaft Monastery, www.lwl.org ( Memento of the original from April 16, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
45. ↑ Franz Klanitz, Schmallenberger Sauerland almanac 1989. The organ of Kloster County , p 91, Westfälisches Schieferbergbau Museum Schmallenberg-Holthausen (eds.)
46. ↑ The Church of Our Lady; ev. parish Frankenberg
47. ^ Joachim Kuropka: National Socialism and Teacher Training. A contribution to the functional change in the teaching profession with special consideration of the province of Westphalia. In: Westfälische Zeitschrift Vol. 131/132 1981/82 p. 173
48. ↑ Motherhouse of the Borromäerinnen, Grafschaft Monastery since the takeover, p. 227ff., History of the Grafschaft Monastery Hospital  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
49. ↑ Presentation of the monastery museum  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
50. ↑ Steinbrücke / Hermes, directory, p. 23f.

This article was added to the list of excellent articles on March 5, 2008 in this version .

Coordinates: 51 ° 8 ′ 40 ″  N , 8 ° 19 ′ 27 ″  E