Kamp Monastery

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Cistercian Abbey Kamp
View of the terrace garden and the abbey church
View of the terrace garden and the abbey church
location GermanyGermany Germany
North Rhine-Westphalia
Coordinates: 51 ° 30 '8.5 "  N , 6 ° 30' 58.4"  E Coordinates: 51 ° 30 '8.5 "  N , 6 ° 30' 58.4"  E
Serial number
according to Janauschek 		20th
founding year 1123
Year of dissolution /
annulment 		1802
Mother monastery Morimond Monastery

Daughter monasteries

Walkenried Monastery (1129)
Volkenroda Monastery (1131)
Amelungsborn Monastery (1135)
Hardehausen Monastery (1140)
Michaelstein Monastery (1146)
Saarn Monastery (1214)
Neuenkamp Monastery (1231)
Bottenbroich Monastery (1231)
Eiteren Monastery / NL (1342)
Mariënkroon Monastery / NL (1382)
Sibculo Monastery / NL (1412)
Burlo Monastery (1448)
Grevenbroich Monastery (1628)

The abbey church
Interior of the abbey church

Kamp Monastery is a former abbey on the territory of the town of Kamp-Lintfort . It was founded in 1123 and was the first Cistercian monastery in what was then the German-speaking area. The monastery complex is located on a hill (Kamper Berg), along which the historic Fossa Eugeniana canal runs south .

In 2020, takes place in the monastery garden as well as on the former mining site mine Friedrich Heinrich 1/2 the Landesgartenschau Kamp-Lintfort in 2020 instead.

Abbey church

Little is known about the abbey's first church building . The first building is said to have been erected between 1150 and 1182, probably in the Romanesque style. The statements about equipping this church with a transept are contradicting, in any case speculative. In the years 1410 to 1415 changes were made to the church: “In the year of the Lord 1410 the church building was renewed, raised at great expense and provided with a new protective roof. In the following year it was extended to the west by a length of 25 feet. ”As part of these measures, the church received a rectangular closed choir ( sanctuary ). Chapels were added to the north. The construction work was carried out in the Gothic style. A transept has not been proven for this building either. This church was destroyed with the entire monastery complex in the course of the Truchsessian War (1583–1588).

In the 17th century a new building was built (completed in 1700) on the foundations of the old church and taking into account the partially preserved sanctuary. The architectural style of this new building is based on the Gothic . With the altars, the choir stalls, some sculptures and the organ, the church received a baroque interior.

Under French rule, the monastery was secularized in 1802 . The former abbey church became a parish church and has been used as such ever since. While many art treasures, the precious library with numerous manuscripts and paintings were lost, some of the choir stalls, the pulpit, some sculptures and the organ were preserved.

The two onion domes on the east wall are a distinctive sign, a building element of the church that is completely untypical for Cistercian churches and is only owed to the Baroque . This also applies to the small bell tower on the central nave of the church (today without function), which, due to the lack of a transept, replaces the small roof turret typical of Cistercians on the crossing of the house. A tower on the westwork is missing, this time in keeping with the Cistercian abstinence from pomp. In the northeast is a hexagonal Lady Chapel from 1714.

Monastery building

In addition to the church, only two other buildings have survived from the former monastery:

  1. The brick building to the southeast of the abbey church, which is the only one still recognizable as a monastery building and is therefore now commonly referred to as "Kamp Monastery". The Cistercians used the upper floor as an infirmary (hospital). The building was destroyed in the Truchsessian War . After the Peace of Westphalia , the house was rebuilt on the old foundations and the foundation walls that had been preserved. After secularization it served as a pastorate . From 1954 to 2002 the Carmelite convent used it as a monastery. The “Rococo Hall” on the ground floor and the vaulted cellar are now used as event locations.
  2. The remainder of the former prelature from the 18th century to the west of the abbey church . The building is now privately owned and is no longer in its original state due to the external plastering that was applied later.

The monastery gardens

Monastery garden

The gardens of the Kamp monastery represent a new garden with baroque structures, built from the 1980s to around 1991. They are a system based on a historical model on historical ground based on an authentic template, an engraving by August Querfurth and Ernst Ludwig Creite from the Mid 18th century. The complex has a total of four gardens with the following names: terrace garden, baroque garden, old garden and orchard. With the restoration, an attempt was made to reintegrate the mosaic stones of baroque horticulture in their traditional location into a closed picture. The rebuilt garden was included in 2004/2005 as an outstanding example in the street of garden art between the Rhine and the Maas .

Terrace garden

The terrace garden, located on the southern slope of the Kamper mountain, is based on a complex that was built by the Cistercian monks of Kamper after the Thirty Years War . The garden was designed by Benediktus Bücken , mathematician and master builder and member of the convent of the former Cistercian abbey Kamp. Bücken used the “Architettura” by Sebastiano Serlio (1st edition Venice 1540) as a template for the system . Then the terrace garden was given five terraces, the top four in a concave shape, the fifth and bottom in a convex shape. As a result of the change from concave to convex shape, an “arena”, a flower garden with a fountain, is created on the lowest terrace. In the middle of the garden, Bücken laid a set of stairs, the so-called "beautiful stairs". The beautiful staircase was adorned with valuable sculptures on its pedestals on both sides, which were lost when the monastery fell as a result of secularization . In 2010, a sundial ensemble was installed on the four steps on the lower terrace.

Baroque garden

To the south of the terrace garden is the horizontally situated baroque garden. It is connected to the terrace garden by the beautiful staircase that ends in a curved double run, which here includes a high fountain wall. The baroque garden is divided into 16 rectangular fields, 4 of which are traditional decorative fields. In the east, south and west there are further fields with border plantings. The center of the garden is a round fountain with integrated water fountains. In the north of the garden two orangeries are arranged symmetrically. The original layout, like the terrace garden, was carried out by the Cistercians after the Thirty Years' War ; Benediktus Bücken also took on the design .

Kamp Monastery - view from the south of the baroque garden, terrace garden and abbey church

Old garden and orchard

The old garden is a regular plant east of the Kamper Berg, which is structurally similar to the baroque garden. A color concept for the plants was implemented in 2012 for the garden, which is divided into 16 square fields. The new federal highway 510, which was laid out in the 20th century, covers around a third of the original garden. On the northeast side of the Kamper Berg there is an orchard with plum, apple and cherry trees.

Sundials in the terrace garden

In 2010, an astronomical sundial in the form of four flat pyramids, each with three dials, was installed on the four steps on the lower terrace . This sundial shows the time displays of antiquity and the Middle Ages, the monastic times of prayer and the modern time calculation CET and CEST . The shadows on the sundial have the shape of the privet trees planted in the terrace garden and cut into a pointed cone.

  • Northeast pillar (front) and southeast pillar (rear)

  • Sundial on the southeast pillar

  • Sundial on the southwest pillar

  • Sundial on the northeast pillar

  • Sundial on the north-west pillar

Southeast pillar Southwest pillar Northeast pillar Northwest Pillar
Subject Temporal hours True local time Sunrise and sunset Modern era
East dial in Kamp (including the prayer times), in the morning in Chorin Monastery (Brandenburg) Hours since sunrise Direction of the sun
South dial in Jerusalem in the Kamp monastery Shadow curve on the founding day (31.1./10.2.) True local time on the 15th degree of longitude (CET)
West dial in Kamp (including prayer times), in the afternoon in the Cîteaux monastery (Burgundy) Hours since and until sunset Height of the sun above the horizon
North dial: Explanation Involved in the erection of the sundials Directions and distances to the above-mentioned monasteries Quote from the founding report Equation of time

organ

The Cistercians initially did not allow organs in their churches , because this instrument was considered pagan. The chant of the monks, the " Gregorian chant ", is unanimous and unaccompanied. Only after the emergence of polyphony in the high Middle Ages did the organ find its way into the monks' church.

A new instrument was set up under Abbot Henricus V. von Calcar (1483–1499). The Kamper Chronik writes about this: “In 1495 a new organ was erected in the Kamper monastery church.” From this text it can be seen that an organ was already in the monastery church before. However, this would have had its place in the east choir behind the rood screen and was probably portable. The chronicle no longer shows when an instrument of this type was first used in the church.

Historical organ prospectus

The prospectus still existing today with the then new organ was under the abbot Wilhelminus Norff III. from Rheinberg (1705–1726), who also had the Marienkapelle built in 1714. The organ builder was probably Johann Josef Brammertz (1668–1729). The organ stage, decorated with the abbot's coat of arms, is very well preserved and the best Rococo work in the church. (Gravestone of Wilhelminus Norff, on the north side in the church) The exact date of origin is not known. The fields of the parapet, the solid balustrade, bear fine and delicately openwork arabesques with great movement and rich diversity. The material is pure oak. On the railing of the parapet you can see vine leaves and grapes crowned with roses. The instrument consisted of a two-manual work with an attached pedal that could be played from the south side. Vases crown the case on both sides and the figure of King David with the harp stands on top. A comparable instrument can be found on the Lower Rhine, for example in St. Nikolaus, Geldern-Walbeck and in St. Nikolaus, Brüggen.

Since the instrument had become completely unplayable after 200 years, it was replaced in 1905 by a new movement from the company Tibus from Rheinberg. This organ had a pneumatic action. In the 1960s, the Fleiter company from Münster was commissioned to convert the instrument. It replaced the pneumatics with an electric action and the organ got a new console.

During the restoration work on the church in the 1970s, the instrument suffered badly and was again unplayable. In 1978 the Stockmann brothers (Werl) were commissioned to build a new organ. Today's plant consists of three independent sub-plants: the main plant, the substation and the pedal plant. The instrument got a mechanical action again.

I Hauptwerk C – g 3
1. Pommer 16 ′
2. Principal 8th'
3. Reed flute 8th'
4th octave 4 ′
5. Gemshorn 4 ′
6th Nasat 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
7th octave 2 ′
8th. Mixture V 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
9. Trumpet 8th'
II substation C – g 3
10. Lead Gedackt 8th'
11. Willow pipe 8th'
12. Principal 4 ′
13. recorder 4 ′
14th Forest flute 2 ′
15th Fifth 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
16. Sesquialtera II 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
17th Scharff IV 2 ⁄ 3 ′
18th Cromorne 8th'
tremolo
Pedal C – f 1
19th Sub-bass 16 ′
20th Principal bass 8th'
21st Thought bass 8th'
22nd Chorale bass 4 ′
23. Mixture IV
24. trombone 16 ′
  • Coupling : II / I, I / P, II / P
  • Playing aids : two free combinations, one free pedal combination, storage for tongues and mixtures

In a waiter's bill from 1667 it says about the previous instrument: "5ta Aprilis computavi praesente fratre Andrea (Holtmann) Culinario with master Hubert the Schrennwirer deserves to do everything he can to make an organ box, which box to make on him by Kellner (Adam) Polenius finished Reichstaler verdungen gewest frengelt, the closter got the holtz and all materiala, so I owe him today pleip 37 thlr 6 1/2 stüb. But he got that from me, as his practicular calculation shows.

Bernhard the organist is also mentioned here, whose annual salary is 20 Reichsthlr. received. Also in 1708 is mentioned: Wilhelm, former organist at Camp. "

“The organ stands in the front in the gallery parapet and in this respect resembles the casings preserved in the Lower Rhine in the Cath. Churches in Bracht, Kamp monastery, Walbeck, Wegberg (former Kreuzherrenkloster), Protestant church in Linnich, as well as the war-torn Paters Church in Erkelenz and the Minorites Church in Kleve. "

- Stockmann, Werl - Andreas Riedel (Organ Maintenance Kloster Kamp)

history

Skullcap of Saint Agatha in the altar of the monastery church
"Abbey Camp" around 1910

founding

On January 23, 1123 Friedrich I , Archbishop of Cologne , issued the deed of foundation for the monastery and he commissioned his brother Arnulf from the Cistercian monastery of Morimond in France to found the monastery. Heinrich, another brother, set out for the Lower Rhine with a group of 12 monks . The monastery was built on January 31, 1123 (according to the Julian calendar 1122). Among other relics , the monks brought with them a piece of the skullcap of St. Agatha , which is still kept in the monastery church today.

After the construction of the monastery, it received many donations for maintenance. Archbishop Arnold I of Cologne confirmed one of these donations in 1138, a court in "Götterswick". In another document from 1139, Pope Innocent II confirmed the foundation of the "Abbey Camp".

Since the Cistercians usually established their settlements in valleys or flat areas, it is assumed that their first settlement was established very close to the later monastery. Under the second abbot Theodoric, farms ( Grangien ) were established in the vicinity of Kalkar and Voerde , among others .

According to the rules of the Cistercian order, each monastery had to own its own vineyard, which Kamp owned as a winery in Moselweiß near Koblenz. After they had to sell the property in 1355 due to financial difficulties, the monks planted a vineyard in the south of the church. In a chronicle from 1483 it can be read several times about this wine that it is said to have been stingy with charms: "The Kamper wine only causes pain at the table" ( lat : Vinum Campense non facit gaudia mense ).

Construction on the Kamper Berg and subsidiaries founded

At that time, however, the whole area was still swampy. Under the third abbot Gierard (around 1150) the construction of the monastery complex on a nearby hill, the Kamper Berg, began. This made it the only Cistercian monastery that was built on a hill. Six years after the founding, the first daughter monastery Walkenried in the Harz region was founded, followed in 1132 by Volkenroda in Thuringia , 1135 Amelungsborn am Solling , 1140 Hardehausen in Westphalia and 1146 Michaelstein also in the Harz region.

15 subsidiaries were founded directly from Kamp Monastery, with Neuzelle Monastery (south of Frankfurt / Oder or Eisenhüttenstadt) having a special significance for the east . At the peak there were 60 monasteries and a further 24 nunneries under the direct supervision of the Kamper abbots. At the end of the 13th century the monastery under Abbot Giselbert reached its peak with possessions (courtyards) in Cologne, Koblenz , Neuss , Uerdingen , Rheinberg with the Kamper Hof and the Strommoers , Utrecht , Aachen and Nijmegen monastery between Rheinberg and Moers . Of the courtyards, only the one in Rheinberg remains; There are also some inhabited buildings on the Strommoers estate with the associated court chapel. In the late Middle Ages, the monastery was probably the most important of the entire Cistercian order. A masterpiece from the time, the Kamper Bible , created in 1312 , is now in the possession of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation .

and display information about the image
Kamp-Lintfort, Kamp Monastery, baroque garden panorama, in the background below the abbey church the terrace garden

Renovations

In the course of the abbey's long history, the monastery was partially or almost completely destroyed several times by acts of war, fires and even the stronger earthquake of 1504. Such events are especially for the end of the 13th century during the general unrest at that time in the Maas and Lower Rhine area, in the 1470s during the acts of war by Charles the Bold on the Lower Rhine and in the Duchy of Geldern and in the last quarter of the 16th century and around Handed down in 1610 during the religious disputes between Catholics and Protestants in the Lower Rhine and the Dutch Eighty Years War .

At the beginning of the 15th century, many buildings at the monastery were renovated and rebuilt, and a new high altar was also built. With the Reformation movement in the 16th century and especially with the Truchsessian War , difficult times began for the monastery. The library's stock of books, which had developed from the scriptorium of the 12th century, seems to have already suffered losses at that time; it was finally liquidated in 1803 at an auction. In 1580 some of the monks moved to Neuss, five years later the monastery was completely abandoned and the rest of them moved to Rheinberg. In 1586 a large part of the monastery was destroyed on the mountain by Count Adolf von Neuenahr and Moers . Between 1626 and 1629 the construction of the Fossa Eugeniana was pushed ahead on the southern slope of the mountain . This also resulted in looting and destruction.

It was not until Abbot Polenius (1636–1664) that some of the monks returned. The attempt to start rebuilding from 1640 had to be interrupted again at short notice. The reconstruction could then be carried out between 1683 and 1700 under Abbot Andreas Holtmann from Geldern. The construction of today's monastery church began in 1685, the apse (east choir) is the only original from 1410 that has survived. However, the building does not correspond to the ideal of the order. On November 19, 1700, the whole convent was able to move in again. Under Abbot Wilhelm Norff from Rheinberg (1705–1726) a new organ was built, debts were paid off and new goods were bought. The Marienkapelle in the north of the church was also built at this time, in the Lower Rhine area there is only one comparable building with the Gnadenkapelle in Kevelaer .

On July 15, 1714, Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia visited the abbey. The king was visiting Moers at the time and made a detour to Kamp on the way to Geldern . Back then there was only one road between these two places. At the request of the prior, the king issued the excise for this monastery during this visit . Some beautifully shaped wine glasses with a goblet-like shape and an engraved Prussian eagle were also given to the abbey on this visit.

Last flowering period

Under Abbot Franziskus Daniels from Grevenbroich (1733–1749) the last heyday of the monastery began. He had the terrace garden , which is still known today, built, which was used as a pure fruit and vegetable garden. The terracing was done according to the Italian fashion, the filling of the areas according to the French fashion. The slope of the mountain was used for the water features in the garden, the water reservoir for this was located under the south tower of the monastery church. Abbot Daniels also had a prelature built right next to the monastery church.

In 1738, Crown Prince Friedrich II of Prussia is said to have traveled from Strasbourg to Moyland Castle near Kleve to meet Voltaire there. On the way he drove past the Kamper Terrassengarten and thereupon drafted the plan of Sanssouci . Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia probably passed the monastery a second time that year, but nothing is known of a renewed stay in the monastery.

During the Seven Years' War near Kamp, Ferdinand von Braunschweig won the victory over the French under Count Clermont on June 12, 1758 . This was followed on June 23 by the Battle of Krefeld , after which the entire Lower Rhine was abandoned by the French. As early as 1759 the French occupied the area of ​​the Left Lower Rhine again. On October 16, 1760, in the battle of Kampen monastery, the French under Marquis de Castries were victorious over Ferdinand, who had tried to surprise the French with Prussian and English troops.

After the revolution broke out in France in 1789 , the left Lower Rhine was occupied by the French armies in 1794. On August 6, 1802, the commissioners Lépine and Thibault announced the secularization of the monastery, and all movable and immovable goods were confiscated. Only the church and the items needed for the service were excluded. The last 27 monks left the monastery with Abbot Bernhard Wiegels on August 10, 1802. In 1807 the monastery was acquired by six merchants after an auction in Aachen . The buildings were demolished or rebuilt, the land of the order passed to the peasants, who were previously only allowed to use it hereditary, when France abolished feudal rights.

At the Congress of Vienna , Kamp became part of the Prussian province of Rhineland . Between 1802 and 1954 the former monastery church was used by the community as a parish church. On May 27, a Carmelite convent moved into the monastery and acted as pastors and teachers in the city's schools. In 2002 this convention was dissolved and all but one of the religious moved back to the Netherlands .

today

A spiritual and cultural center has been set up in the monastery since 2003. There are days of reflection and contemplation . The monastery vespers are prayed in the abbey church every Sunday at 5 p.m. In the Rococo Hall , cultural events such as the Kamper concerts, chamber music, readings, evenings for connoisseurs and the chamber music festival are offered. Art exhibitions and guided tours can be visited. The monastery building was extensively renovated in 2003 and 2009. A monastery café in the former refectory and a monastery shop in the former recreation area invite you to linger. Art exhibitions take place in one of the two orangeries in the monastery in summer. On the abbey square in front of the monastery church there are still some buildings that were built in the last heyday of the monastery. The Museum Kloster Kamp is located in the Agathastift, in which many objects from the history of the monastery are exhibited. The most valuable exhibit is the Kamper Antependium , an altar curtain from the 14th century.

See also

literature

  • Georg Geisbauer: Kamp Monastery, its abbots and filiations; The Kamper Chronicle - German ; Kamp-Lintfort (self-published) 2002.
  • Erich Willicks, Georg Geisbauer: Kamp Monastery - Past and Present , Kamp-Lintfort (self-published) 2000.
  • History of the Seven Years' War in a series of lectures, using authentic sources, edited by the officers of the great General Staff, Part Four: The Campaign of 1760, printed as a manuscript for the use of the army, Berlin 1834; P. 416ff. online at google books p. 416ff .
  • Matthias Dicks: The Abbey Camp on the Lower Rhine - History of the first Cistercian monastery in Germany (1123-1803) ; Original edition 1913, reprint Moers 1978.
  • Friedrich Michels: History and description of the former abbey camp near Rheinberg ; Crefeld 1832.

Web links

Wikisource: Kloster Kamp  - Sources and full texts
Commons : Kloster Kamp  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Hermann Bär : Diplomatic history of the Eberbach Abbey in the Rheingau . Ed .: Karl Rossel . tape 1 . Association for Nassau Antiquity and Historical Research , Wiesbaden 1855, p. 1 ( MDZ [accessed June 26, 2013]).
  2. ↑ Georg Geisbauer: Kamp monastery, its abbots and filiations; The Kamper Chronicle - German . Self-published, Kamp-Lintfort 2000, p. 58 .
  3. ↑ Willy Bachmann, Gerhard Schöpkens : Light and Time - Nature and Culture - Physis and Metaphysis - The Astronomical Sundial at Kamp Monastery . Series of publications European meeting place at Kloster Kamp e. V. , Kamp-Lintfort 2014.
  4. ↑ Lacomblet, Theodor Joseph, in: Document book for the history of the Lower Rhine or the Archbishopric of Cologne, Document 297 , 1840, Volume 1, 779 to 1200, p. [210] 1194.
  5. ↑ Lacomblet, Theodor Joseph, in: Document book for the history of the Lower Rhine or the Archbishopric of Cologne, Document 328 , 1840, Volume 1, 779 to 1200, p. 218.
  6. ↑ Lacomblet, Theodor Joseph, in: Document book for the history of the Lower Rhine or the Archbishopric of Cologne, Document 332 , 1840, Volume 1, 779 to 1200, p. [238] 272.
  7. ↑ Montanus. In: The prehistory of the countries Cleve-Mark, Jülich-Berg and Westphalia. Chapter XXXV: The chronicle of the Altfeld monastery, vulgo Kamp, in the Duchy of Cleve . 1837, Solingen, pp. [75 to 96] 439 to 460. Online version
  8. ↑ Udo Kindermann , Das Proteus-Gedicht from Kamp, in: Cistercienser Chronik 116 (2009), pp. 367-380
  9. ↑ Montanus. In: The prehistory of the countries Cleve-Mark, Jülich-Berg and Westphalia. Chapter XXXV: The chronicle of the Altfeld monastery, vulgo Kamp, in the Duchy of Cleve . 1837, Solingen, p. [89] 453. Online version
  10. ^ In: Annals of the Historical Association for the Lower Rhine . In: Chapter: Cronicon monasterii Campensis . 1869, issue 20, p. [60] 74. Online version