Marienstatt Abbey

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Marienstatt Cistercian Abbey
Marienstatt Abbey, aerial photo (2016)
Marienstatt Abbey, aerial photo (2016)
location Germany
Rhineland-Palatinate
Lies in the diocese Limburg
Coordinates: 50 ° 41 '6.5 "  N , 7 ° 48' 11.2"  E Coordinates: 50 ° 41 '6.5 "  N , 7 ° 48' 11.2"  E
Serial number
according to Janauschek 		571
Patronage Assumption Day
founding year 1212
Year of dissolution /
annulment 		1803
Year of repopulation 1888
Mother monastery Heisterbach Monastery
Primary Abbey Clairvaux Monastery
Congregation Mehrerauer Congregation

The Marienstatt Abbey ( Latin Abbatia Loci Sanctae Mariæ ) is a Cistercian monastery and place of pilgrimage in the local community of Streithausen , Westerwaldkreis , Rhineland-Palatinate . It is located in a valley four kilometers from Hachenburg directly on the Nister .

The monastery town of Marienstatt includes the abbey itself, an early Gothic basilica with the largest organ in the Westerwald , a library, a brewery with a restaurant, a book and art shop, a guest house and a privately owned grammar school (the Marienstatt private grammar school ), which is based on ancient languages is working.

history

Foundation in Neunkhausen

Coat of arms of the Abbey of Marienstatt.jpg
At the Alterklosterhof a small chapel reminds of the first place where the monastery was founded

The Abbey of Marienstatt stands over its mother monastery Heisterbach in the Siebengebirge (founded in 1198) and its mother monastery Himmerod , which was founded in Clairvaux in 1134 , as a direct successor to the Cistercian monastery , the Cîteaux Abbey .

The monastery was founded in 1212 - aided by a donation from the Electorate of Cologne burgrave Eberhard von Aremberg and his wife Adelheid von Molsberg. Presumably, the construction work began in the same or in the following year at the original location in today's Neunkhausen . Because when the founding of the monastery was confirmed by the Archbishop of Trier Dietrich in 1215 , the most important monastery buildings must have already been in place, according to the Cistercian rules. At the Bernhard Festival in 1215, the founding convention under Abbot Hermann von Marienstatt moved out of Heisterbach .

Move to the Nister

Because the donation was contested by the heirs of the Countess, who had died in the meantime, immediately after the monastery was founded and agriculture was difficult due to the harsh climate and the barren soil at the monastery site, Abbot Hermann applied for the monastery to be relocated as early as 1220. In the same year the topic was discussed at the General Chapter of the Order in Citeaux. The abbots of Heisterbach and Altenberg received the order to review Marienstatt's application and to decide on it independently. Presumably they took up negotiations with Count Heinrich III. von Sayn and his wife Mechthild von Landsberg . On 27 February 1222 pair of small monastic community finally gave the manorial Nistria in the Valley of Nister and a wine pension Metternich in Koblenz. The state sovereignty over the Kirburg parish also remained in the hands of the monastery.

The “Marienstatter Tafeln” from 1324, which are today in the Rheinisches Landesmuseum (Bonn), report on the change of location: According to this, the monks wanted to return to Heisterbach, but Abbot Hermann von Marienstatt stuck to his plan to found a Cistercian monastery in the Westerwald. The abbot commanded the confreres to pray for three days. Lying in his sick bed, the abbot experienced a vision on the third night:

"The Mother of God appeared to Abbot Hermann in a dream and pointed out to him a hawthorn bush blooming in the middle of winter as a new monastery location."

Associated with this is the name “locus Sanctae Mariae” - Place of Mary: Marienstatt. To commemorate this miraculous event, the abbey added a flowering branch of hawthorn to its coat of arms . An offshoot of that thorn bush can still be found today between the monastery building and the basilica avenue in the immediate vicinity of the Joseph statue.

Joseph's figure with the offshoot of the thorn bush from the founding history

Marienstatt was under the protection of the Roman Curia early on: in 1219 Pope Honorius III. a protective privilege , others followed in 1225, 1226 and 1227. On March 7th, 1225, Pope Honorius also granted the monastery freedom from episcopal material claims; on May 5th, 1225, the Pope confirmed the possessions in today's Klostertal and on July 12, 1225 the Pope strengthened the legal position of the abbot and the prior. Later popes also strengthened Marienstatt, such as Pope Alexander IV and Pope John XXI, who in 1276 supported all privileges previously granted and exempted the monastery from secular taxes.

With the first consecration on the feast of the Apostle John (December 27, 1227) under the third Abbot Conrad, the community finally moved to its present location. The relocation resulted in a change of diocese, and from then on the monastery was subordinate to the Archbishop of Cologne : The transferring diocese of Trier and its bishop Dietrich II of Trier lost an important pillar of its power. The change from the parish of Kirburg (deanship Haiger, diocese Trier) to parish Kroppach (deanship Siegburg, archbishopric Cologne) meant, for the archbishopric of Cologne, a strengthening of the Sprengel located far east of the diocese city of Cologne. From 1243 onwards, the church was expanded under Abbot Kuno. On December 27, 1324, under Abbot Wigand von Greifenstein , the expanded building was re-blessed by Archbishop Heinrich II of Virneburg from Cologne . This did not mean that the expansion work was completed. A further expansion phase up to around 1425 can be verified on the basis of construction studies. After laypeople were also allowed to visit the monastery church in 1476 , the foundation stone was laid in 1485 for what is still the most important pilgrimage day of the Virgin Mary on the octave day of the Corpus Christi feast. A fair must have already existed at this time for the parish fair of the monastery church, the customs of which Count Gerhard von Sayn awarded the monastery in 1479.

In 1272 a Kuno von Weilburg, called "von Dorchheim", gave the Abbey of Marienstatt various rights in Dorchheim . In the following period, the abbey set up its own winery and acquired further properties in the Elbbachtal as planned . In the Dorchheim district alone, the property comprised over 200 acres of land. The abbey also received church patronage through the St. Nicholas Chapel there . This property only became extinct with the secularization of the abbey.

Bloom, decline and renewed bloom after the Thirty Years War

The busy building activity and the increasing pilgrimage show the abbey's heyday in the late Middle Ages , which was interrupted by the plague of 1490, when the monks left Marienstatt for a short time, and occasional quarrels with the Counts of Sayn , who claimed sovereignty over the abbey.

From 1561 the Counts of Sayn introduced the Reformation in their territories and withdrew the monastery sovereignty over the parish of Kirburg as well as over the Nistertal. In the decades that followed, there were repeated clashes between the Counts of Sayn and the Cistercians.

During the Thirty Years' War , the abbey was declared a Swedish crown property on October 3, 1633 , the monks were expelled and the complex was plundered. After the Swedes withdrew, the Cistercians returned, but the monastery was about to be dissolved. In 1637 only Abbot Johannes Wittig, a monk and two novices lived in Marienstatt.

After the Thirty Years War, however, a new boom began, which was accompanied by brisk construction activity. At that time, today's monastery buildings were built, with the exception of the church. Marienstatt also flourished economically. In 1659, under Abbot Johannes Pflüger, the Michaelstein Monastery in the Harz Marienstatt was subordinated, whereby Pflüger received the pontificals . Under Abbot Benedikt Bach, the church received its baroque furnishings, of which the three marble altars in the south aisle and the holy water basin in the entrance area are still preserved. He also carried out extensive construction and renovation work in the abbey and the monastery courtyards. From 1735 to 1751 the old monastery buildings were demolished under Abbot Petrus Emons and replaced by new systems in the Baroque style . In 1754 a gate house followed in the same style. In 1777 the Cistercian priory of Bottenbroich Marienstatt was subordinated.

In the coalition wars, Marienstatt served as a military hospital in 1794/1795 and 1796/1797 . 636 soldiers are buried in the cemetery established at that time. In the following years there were multiple looting by French troops. The monks temporarily left the monastery.

Imperial cemetery

The properties of the Marienstatt monastery in the Neuwied area

The first message from the Marienstatt monastery people (Cistercians) about their activities in the County of Wied is from the year 1253, when Burgrave Johann von Hammerstein and his wife Hildegund brought goods to Gönnersdorf ( Cunresdorf ) to the Marienstatt monastery .

When the knight Gerlach von Stebach ( Stedebach ), with the will of his heirs, turned his goods to the Rommersdorf monastery (today located in the town of Neuwied ) and the Sayn monastery ( Sayn , now part of Bendorf ), not only those of the monastery were among them Ganarus von Leutesdorf ( Ludinsdorp ) and Heinrich von Wollendorf ( Woluindorp ), but it was also said at the same time that half of his property at Heimbach was included in it. In Engers (now part of Neuwied) the named owned some estates, where Elisabeth von Engers owned a house with a garden. It was Damarus von Horchheim (now part of Koblenz ), who made a will of August 27, 1285, who owned a number of goods in the village of Vallendar , zu Dierdorf and also in Heimbach. Their proceeds were partly to support u. a. also determined the recluse to Heimbach. On August 7, 1332, Dietrich von Heimbach was seen as a witness when a certificate was issued.

In 1456, the properties belonging to the monastery courtyard in Metternich (today a part of Koblenz ) were named in the area where the goods were exposed. The Marienstatter monastery people used some goods at Engers, namely in the brand, which were called "Yn deme Melme". Gerhart Plick had leased these goods at that time. He lived in Cunoengers. These fields were removed from the yard at Mülhofen . The courtiers were called Henne Roiffer von Cunoengers, Ludwig von Weis (Wisse) and Henne Roille von Cunoengers and Arnolt Westerburg.

Philip Vaics gave the monks of the Sayn monastery a vineyard called the cat. The court man at Mühlhofen, called Arnt, and the wine merchants Surgin von Kaltenengers ( Kaldenengerß ) and Godart von Reul ( Ril , Roil ) testified to the legal process. Johann von Heimbach received a Drieschland , attested by the Ludwig von Heimbach cellar .

The Marienstatter properties in and around Engers were concentrated in the Neuwied area. Giso von Molsberg and his wife Sophie as well as his brother Gerlach stated on November 22nd, 1292 that the burgrave Eberhard von Aremberg ( Arberch ) had also brought goods that were owned by Isenburg to the monastery when the Marienstatt monastery was founded. This document issued at Engers will probably have been of lasting importance. But these goods were not listed by name, but presented globally. The presence of the witnesses from Isenburg and the knight Johann von Braunsberg give eloquent evidence of this. It also sealed Sophie von der Neuerburg , a whale pod.

The monastery was also able to enjoy duty-free status in the Neuwied Basin . On November 25, 1315, the castle man Meffried von Braunsberg and his wife Gertrud announced that they received the peculiar vineyard "zo Hoir" with goods to Heddesdorf ( Heydenstorf ) with court rides , houses, vineyards, and fields from the monastery by way of an exchange The only exception was the field "in the Wydische". The Heddesdorf mayor Heynfried had witnessed this exchange. Hence from then on there was the Braunsberger Hof at Heddesdorf, while the Marienstatter monastery people were referred to the area around Gönnersdorf and Feldkirchen. Wilhelm von Braunsberg reported on March 20, 1335 that the mayor of Feldkirchen, known as Greuse, had sold the "Langenberg" vineyard at the request of Johann von Miesenheim (now part of Andernach ). This vineyard would lie within the Feldkirchen court. The witnesses came from Gönnersdorf, Fahr and from the farm (houe).

The Mühlhofen monastery courtyard ( Mollhoeben ) came into focus again on September 20, 1485, when Roil Henn, a citizen of Engers, bequeathed some pieces of land to the Abbot Friedrich, namely: on the stone, church pieces, on the Stemmen. The monastery ceded the goods in the Engerser brand to Roil Henn: on the streets, on the artlandt, built the trench, on the Affenet. The lay judges of the Engers court, Claß and Henne Helffs, and Heintze Schneider, testified to this agreement.

The transfer made by Arnold von Dernbach, an Isenburg castle man, and his wife Phye (Sofie) on May 31, 1376 became significant. At that time they bequeathed their validity to the Marienstatt monastery. Especially at Hüllenberg , the monastery people determined the course of history. Wilhelm Hoylgin and his son Heinrich used the "uff Reinhelden" vineyard in 1448, which they exchanged for the Langenberg vineyard.

Secularization and commercial plans

On October 19, 1802, the abbey was abolished in the course of secularization and given to Count Wilhelm von Nassau-Weilburg . In 1803 the last monks left the valley. Catholic services continued to take place in the church, which was officially permitted by the Nassau government in 1831. At the beginning of 1806, a small ironware factory set up shop in the former slaughterhouse and in the cutting mill of the monastery, which closed again in 1811. In 1809, large parts of the monastery complex were converted to set up a wool weaving and fulling mill with an attached publishing system by the Lorsbach brothers from Hachenburg . This company also closed around 1815. From this point on, all buildings except the church were empty and were finally sold to an Anglo-German mining company that wanted to accommodate its administration there. In 1831 the monastery church became the parish church of the newly established parish of Marienstatt, which saved it from being demolished. In 1842 the Duchy of Nassau bought the facilities back in a very bad condition for 19,500 guilders. A plan to set up a workhouse was not implemented and the abbey remained empty. On May 18, 1864, the Duchy of Marienstatt sold for 20,900 guilders to Limburg Bishop Peter Josef Blum , who set up a rescue center for neglected boys there.

As a result of this decision, there was a bitter argument in the Nassau assembly of estates . Shortly before, in the election on November 25, 1863, the Liberals had achieved a large majority in the second chamber of the Nassau Estates Assembly. The electoral program set up demanded, among other things, that the privileges that had been granted to the Catholic Church should also apply to other religious communities. On June 9, 1864, the Liberals moved to the assembly of estates that the sale should not be carried out. They argued that buildings and the property belonging to them were far more valuable than the proceeds from the auction and that the assembly of stalls had a say in the sale of state property to a large extent. The latter denied the government representatives and emphasized the social purpose of the facility, which should be rated higher than any possible commercial use. In the further course of the debate, which lasted several sessions, there were also arguments between pro and anti-clerical MPs. The latter generally disapproved of the fact that the Catholic Church should be allowed to supervise children. Ultimately, the sale was not reversed despite the parliamentary dispute.

New Church Life

Marienstatter Basilika-Allee

The fathers were entrusted by the Holy Spirit (Spiritans) with the management of the sanctuary . When this order was expelled during the Kulturkampf in 1873, secular priests of the Limburg diocese continued to run the institution. From October 1873 to February 1876 and from August 1883 to May 1889, sisters of the Community of Poor Maidservants of Jesus Christ worked in the rescue facility. In connection with the resettlement, a decision was made to move the diocesan institution to Marienhausen ( Aulhausen ). In 1888 the abbey was bought back from the diocese by monks from the Wettingen-Mehrerau abbey of Lake Constance and repopulated under the direction of the abbot and later Limburg bishop Dominikus Willi . On August 30, 1888, Marienstatt was officially an abbey again and from that point on belonged to the Mehrerau congregation .

In 1909 a new library was built under Abbot Konrad II. Kolb and in 1910 an oblate school was opened for the training of the next generation of the Order. The prospective monks lived in a dormitory, the first prefect was Pater Adelgott Caviezel. During the First World War the gate house housed a military rest home . In 1922 the former and now secularized mother monastery of Himmerod and the Hardehausen Abbey were repopulated from Marienstatt .

Main entrance of the high school today

During the rule of the National Socialists , Marienstatt narrowly escaped repeal. The oblate school was closed. During the Second World War , the abbey served as a military hospital and as a location for a children's home from Dormagen , a nursing home from Frankfurt am Main and the theological college of Sankt Georgen .

After the war, the Oblate School was reopened and expanded into an old-language grammar school. A student dormitory was built from 1958 to 1962, and a single room wing was added in the late 1960s. Until the boarding school closed in 1982, around 120 internal pupils from classes Sexta (5) to senior prima (13) lived in Marienstatt. The boarding school was run by monks from the monastery; The first rain was Father Leopold Bertsche (1945–1948), his successor was Father Stephan Reuter (1948–1972), he was followed by Father Theobald Rosenbauer (1972–1982) until the boarding school closed. Today there is one of the guest houses in the boarding wing and school rooms in the basement (e.g. the student council).

The church is currently owned by the State of Rhineland-Palatinate , while the monastery buildings belong to the Cistercian abbey.

Abbey church

The construction of the Abbey Church of Our Lady of Marienstatt began in 1222 and was completed in 1425. The monastery church is sometimes referred to locally as the first Gothic church east of the Rhine . However, the renovation of the Limburg Cathedral in Gothic style had already begun before 1190 ; the first large Gothic church building east of the Rhine was Magdeburg Cathedral in 1209 . The abbey church has had the honorary title of Basilica minor since 1927 .

The organ built by Rieger Orgelbau in 1970 , the largest in the Westerwald, is remarkable .

The abbey today

Adoration at Nightfever in Marienstatt Abbey
Pilgrims with flags in Marienstatt
Marienstatt Abbey - monastery building

The head ( abbot ) of the abbey has been Abbot Andreas Range since February 25, 2006 . His predecessor from 1971 to February 2006 was Thomas Denter , who resigned from office at the age of 70 on February 6, 2006 according to the statutes of the Mehrerau Congregation , but continued the business until the election of his successor. The abbot's deputy is Father Prior Martin Pfeiffer.

The monks of the Marienstatt Abbey organize nightfever events several times a year in cooperation with the grammar school . The monks, teachers, pupils and school music ensembles organize open evenings of prayer for all for Eucharistic adoration, which were created as a continuation of the Vigil of World Youth Day 2005.

In 2011 the abbey had 16 professed between the ages of 37 and 85, with an average age of around 60. 12 monks had received the sacrament of ordination .

The abbey receives more than 10,000 pilgrims annually. It operates several renewable energy sources such as a hydroelectric power station and a photovoltaic system , which is how it generates part of its income.

In addition to pastoral care in the pastoral area of ​​Hachenburg, the monks work in the private grammar school of the abbey , in the guest area, in the book and art shop, in the brewery, in the garden, at the monastery gate as well as in the monastery library and bookbindery.

In 2012 the abbey celebrated its 800th anniversary under the motto “For the love of Christ”: Church services, pilgrimages, concerts, author readings, encounters with art, literature and nature as well as a project week and a school festival at the PGM were on the annual program.

On August 23, 2014 the exhibition "Biblical Expedition" was opened in the Marienstatter Pfarrheim.

On January 18, 2015, Catholics of the parishes of Hachenburg, Bad Marienberg, Mörlen and Nistertal celebrated the foundation of their new large parish “St. Assumption of Mary Hachenburg ”. The main place of the large parish is the parish church Maria Himmelfahrt Hachenburg, the other, formerly independent parishes remain church locations.

On January 6, 2016, the “Gate of Mercy” was opened in Marienstatt on the occasion of the extraordinary Holy Year. At the request of Pope Francis , churches around the world should open gates of mercy so that as many people as possible can experience divine goodness and tenderness. Marienstatt was also selected and invited to open such a gate. This happened in the context of a pontifical office by Abbot Andreas Range.

The Spiritual Circle of Friends

The spiritual circle of friends is an initiative of the monks of Marienstatt. It is a group of people who feel addressed by the abbey. The concern is mutual spiritual help. With this, the Marienstatter tie in with an old religious tradition: the Familiar and Oblate, ie "men and women who are closely or loosely connected to the individual monasteries and support them in various ways, especially in prayer". One feels connected in prayer and especially prays for spiritual offspring for the monastery. On the “day of retreat”, close contact between the monks and the circle of friends is made possible.

Forum Abtei Marienstatt e. V.

Marienstatt guidance system

The Forum Abtei Marienstatt is a registered association, which has set itself the goal of raising “the Cistercian idea in public awareness” and to support the monastery materially and ideally. The first funding project was the renewal of the 15 choir windows during the overall renovation of the basilica. The windows were designed by the artist Wilhelm Buschulte from Unna. This was followed by the redevelopment of the medium risk on the west side of the abbey. This baroque component made of trachyte in a magnificent design reminiscent of castle buildings was in great need of restoration. The garden / lawn area to the right of Basilika-Allee in the style of a baroque garden was the next funding focus.

For the 800th anniversary of the abbey in 2012, the forum financed the book Sehet, hier ist die Ort - Geschichte der Abbey Marienstatt , which the Cologne historian Christian Hillen researched and wrote on behalf of the forum. In 2014 the abbey courtyard was renovated up to the monastery gate. Most recently, the establishment of an information and guidance system for the abbey grounds was funded. Some of the “guiding stones” are only labeled, others also have information about the current location. All stones are adorned with the new “Marienstatt logo”: In front of the M for Marienstatt there is a crook , i.e. the abbot's staff.

In 2018, the renovation of individual stations on the Great Way of the Cross , which was built shortly after the Second World War, began with funds from the forum . Pressure from underlying soil and rocks as well as penetrating moisture had z. B. led to large cracks at the ninth station. The renovation was completed in September 2018. The altar of station 12, on which the monumental cross stands, was also renovated.

In 2019, the forum financed, among other things, the conservation and restoration of figures of the apostles from the Hadamar Baroque (17th and 18th centuries) from the monastery library and the trees in the avenue leading to the basilica.

Abbots

  1. Hermann von Marienstatt , 1215 - around 1223
  2. Ulrich , 1223
  3. Konrad I. , around 1223-1227
  4. Henry I , 1227-1240
  5. Kuno, 1240-1243
  6. Peter I, 1247-1248
  7. Wilhelm I, 1248-1251
  8. John I, 1255-1258
  9. Dietrich I., 1258-1287
  10. Nicholas, 1287-1298
  11. Wigand von Greifenstein, 1299–1337
  12. Dietrich II., 1337-1352
  13. Albert, 1352-1365
  14. Arnuf, 1365-1370
  15. Dietrich III., 1371-1372
  16. John II, 1374-1379
  17. Bernhard I of Mudersbach, 1381–1388
  18. Heinrich II of Cologne, 1391–1402
  19. Dietrich IV. Von Ingelbach, 1404–1409
  20. Rorich Scheppler, 1409-1422
  21. Wilhelm II of Linz, 1425–1428
  22. Bruno of Cologne, 1428–1459
  23. Gottfried I (Godert) of Cologne, 1459–1462
  24. Friedrich Scharnekel, 1462-1490
  25. John III von Westerburg, 1490–1514
  26. Tilmann von Siegburg, 1514–1519
  27. Henry III. von Kleberg, 1519–1542
  28. Peter II of Wenden, 1542–1558
  2. Dietrich V. Hartinroide, 1558-1559
  3. Peter III from Cologne, 1560–1563
  4. Adam von Selbach, 1563–1565
  5. John IV. Wenden, 1565–1576
  6. Gottfried II von Drolshagen, 1576–1586
  7. Philipp Seiler , 1586–1623
  8. Adolph Stroitz , 1623-1633
  9. Johannes V. Weiler , 1633-1636
  10. Michael Leyendecker (Textor), 1636
  11. John VI Wittig , 1636-1658; † 1667
  12. Johannes VII. Kaspar Pflüger , 1658–1688
  13. Benedikt Bach , 1688-1720
  14. Alberich Bergh , 1720-1735; † 1736
  15. Peter IV. Emons , 1735–1751
  16. Bernhard II. Colonia , 1751-1770
  17. Edmund Reader , 1770-1784; † 1786
  18. Joseph Frosch , 1784–1802
  19. Dominikus I. Conrad , 1802–1803 (Marienstatt's secularization on October 19, 1802); † 1819 in Koblenz-Rübenach
  20. Dominikus II. Willi , 1889–1898, then Bishop of Limburg; † January 6, 1913
  21. Konrad II. Kolb , 1898–1918
  22. Eberhard Hoffmann , 1918–1936 (born January 21, 1878 in Nauroth (Westerwald); had to flee from the Nazis to Switzerland in 1936 and finally found a place to stay in the Benedictine monastery in Disentis, where he died on April 11, 1940)
  23. Idesbald Eicheler , 1936–1971
  24. Thomas Denter , 1971-2006
  25. Andreas Range , since 2006

  • 47th Abbot: Bishop Dominikus Willi OCist

  • 48th Abbot: Konrad Kolb OCist

  • 51st Abbot: Thomas Denter OCist

  • 52nd Abbot: Andreas Range OCist

Economy and Infrastructure

Environmental protection, power generation

The turbine house in the northeastern part of the monastery grounds
At a weir, the water from the nest is drained off

Since the beginning, the Cistercians have been pioneers in agriculture, forestry and water management, which is still reflected today in the location of the monasteries. Marienstatt is also located on a river - the Nister . On the one hand, the water donated and sustained life for people, animals and plants; on the other hand, mechanical energy could be obtained from it to facilitate work. Some of the water, which was diverted and diverted through an artificially created ditch ("Mühlgraben"), served as a power source for mills and sawmills. The weir from which the water is diverted is about a kilometer southeast of today's turbine house.

In 1888 - when it was resettled after secularization - the monks repaired the mill and the mill moat. In 1914/1916 the course of the Mühlgraben was shortened by a 120 meter long tunnel, which gave the watercourse a higher gradient. This allowed more pressure to be applied to the water wheel blades, which operate a "dynamo" to generate 110 volts of direct current with an output of 6 to 8 kW. In December 1956, the plant went into operation with an average annual output of 400,000 kWh. In 1962 the Marienstatter Valley was connected to the public electricity network. This enabled overproduction to be fed into the public power grid and energy to be taken from the own small power plant in the event of insufficient supply. In 2000, a photovoltaic system was installed on the roof of the “turbine house”, which - despite the shady valley location - produces 3,000 kWh of electrical energy per year. In 2002 the turbine and generator were replaced by a system equipped with modern technology, so that 500,000 kWh can be generated annually. The entire Klostertal is supplied with electricity from the “energy center” in the turbine house - the entire monastery complex including the grammar school and church. This also applies to the heating of the rooms, which are extracted from the nest water by means of exchangers and heat pumps and brought to the appropriate temperature for heating the heating water. In 2004, a solar thermal system was installed on the roof of the school library, which generates around 40,000 kWh of thermal energy annually to heat the domestic water.

Despite the modern systems, a supply of gas energy is necessary, especially in winter. The exhaust gases are cooled and the recovered heat is then fed back into the heating process. 55 percent of the energy required in the valley is generated from alternative or regenerative energies and 45 percent from gas. The reduction in CO 2 emissions is around 1,200 tons, so together with the generation of electrical energy, the Marienstatt Abbey protects the environment by around 1,700 tons of CO 2 emissions.

Water law

In 1956, the Marienstatt Abbey was reaffirmed the "old water rights to the large Nister, which had already been upheld by the Prussian Water Act and whose content is a discharge and discharge law". This means: “By virtue of the old law that was upheld, you have the authority to maintain the dam in such a way that all of the water in the large nest is available for your power plant” (legal opinion of April 21, 1978). Although the water law allows a "total withdrawal", it is important that the onward flow of the nest is supplied with enough water that the fish can live or survive there even in dry conditions. Accordingly, the weir's water level was determined in such a way that it guarantees the throughflow or drainage of a minimum water volume of 125 l / s; a fish ladder was also installed. These regulations were made in consultation with the lower water authority.

traffic

Marienstatt had a stop of the same name on the Oberwesterwaldbahn , which trains now pass through without stopping. The closest connection to the local rail transport is at the Hattert train stop on the Oberwesterwaldbahn, approx. 2.4 km from the abbey, which is served by trains on the "Westerwald-Sieg-Bahn" (RB 90, Limburg (Lahn) - Diez Ost– Westerburg - Nistertal-Bad Marienberg - Hachenburg - Altenkirchen - Au (Sieg) - Betzdorf (Sieg) - Siegen - Kreuztal ) according to the Rhineland-Palatinate cycle every hour.

The distance to the Hachenburg train station is approx. 4.5 km. The bus route 8410 from Hachenburg (train station) ensures the local transport connection.

Marienstatt is located about two kilometers north of the junction of the B 413 and the B 414 on the federal road network . A large parking lot is located about 300 meters west of the basilica at the Nister . The monastery grounds can be reached via the old Nister Bridge.

tourism

General plan Marienstatt

Due to the basilica with the “Our Lady of Sorrows”, pilgrimages and numerous day tourists, Marienstatt is one of the tourist hotspots in the Westerwald.

The monastery is located in Kroppacher Switzerland . The Westerwald-Steig long-distance hiking trail goes over the monastery grounds. In addition, some hikes start from here, e.g. For example, the 1.8 kilometer long “monastery walk”, which leads along the Nister and the foundations of Vroneck Castle and on some signs indicates special features of the Westerwald nature (e.g. alluvial forest). The 121 kilometer long main hiking trail I of the Westerwaldverein (Königswinter - ruin of the Heisterbach monastery - Kölsch-Büllesbach - Marienthal monastery - Hachenburg - Bad Marienberg - Fuchskaute - Breitscheid - Herborn) leads across the site, as does the 252 kilometer long "Kölner Weg" (Cologne / Königsforst - Wahlscheid - Winterscheid - Herchen / Sieg - Marienthal Monastery - Hachenburg - Bad Marienberg - Dreifelden - Dierdorf - Neustadt / Wied - Königswinter / Rhine). In addition, the “Marienwanderweg” from Marienstatt to Marienthal (approx. 20.2 km) starts here.

In the monastery shop, numerous Christian books, but also products from the Marienstatter monks or other monasteries are offered.

Way of the Cross above Marienstatt

South of the monastery (above Kreisstraße 21) there is a remarkable way of the cross .

There are around 40 geocaches on the site of the abbey or within walking distance . The vast majority of the caches were placed by the high school's geocaching study group.

Accommodation options

The abbey has a range of accommodation options: There are three holiday apartments for 4, 6 and 10 people each. There are rooms with shower and toilet in the gatehouse and abbey building. There are 59 beds (simple single or double rooms) in the large guest house (with showers and toilets on the floors; a lounge / conference room and a tea kitchen per floor). In addition, the abbey has apartments for 2 people (living room, bedroom, shower and toilet), a meditation room and the abbot's chapel as a room for prayer. The offer is rounded off by 6 conference / seminar rooms for 20 to 200 people.

Beer from Marienstatt

Brewery of the Marienstatt Abbey

The brewing tradition in Marienstatt goes back to the time before 1457: In that year it can be proven that a brewing kettle was part of the inventory of the monastery courtyard in Gehlert. From the year 1493 we know that the servants of the monastery received half an ohm servant beer during Lent , the monks were served beer as well as wine in 1578. Eleven years later it is documented that Brother Johannes Bierbrauer, court lord in Metternich, brewed beer in the monastery courtyard. Around 1700 Abbot Benedikt Bach (1688-1720) had a new brewery and bakery built. On October 28, 1898, the district committee of the Oberwesterwaldkreis gave Abbot Konrad Kolb (1898–1918) permission to run an inn in the rooms of the Marienstatt Abbey. A year later (on February 27, 1899) a brewery was built in Marienstatt. On May 14, 1899, the monks were able to report: "Prima vice bibimus novam cerevisiam in nostro monasterio factam". In February 1908 the monks had to stop the beer production because of their inefficiency - the equipment of the brewery was sold. It took almost a century before beer was brewed again in Marienstatt: on May 1, 2004, the first barrel was tapped in the newly renovated Marienstatter brewery. A bottom-fermented, naturally cloudy country beer is brewed with a high proportion (55%) of dark malt with an original wort content of 12.7–13% and an alcohol content of 5.5%. Today the brewery is in the basement and a dining room is upstairs.

Others

At the gate house: "Route européenne des abbayes cisterciennes", "Fledermäuse Willkommen" (NABU) and the hiking signs (from top to bottom): K des Westerwaldverein (Kölner Weg, 252.3 km), [Westerwald-Steig], Marienwanderweg (20 , 2 km from Marienstatt to Marienthal ), I des Westerwaldverein (121.6 km from Königswinter to Herborn )

The monastery took part in the monastery study .

Bats welcome

The only known colony of large mouse-eared bats in Rhineland-Palatinate , where young animals are born, lives in the monastery warehouse . The population was discovered in 1999. In June 2002 603 specimens - including 200 young - were counted. By 2014 the population grew to 1,300 animals. Also in 2014, the Marienstatter monks received the campaign badge “Bats Welcome” from the Naturschutzbund (NABU) Rheinland-Pfalz e. V. awarded.

Route européenne des abbayes cisterciennes

The Abbey of Marienstatt is a member of the "Route européenne des abbayes cisterciennes". The society “European Charter of Cistercian Abbeys and Places” was officially founded in 1993 by some abbeys: “They saw the need to build a network and thus to take on the legitimate responsibility to preserve and value the material and immaterial cultural heritage of the Cistercians . The company acts in full independence and without any religious or political ties ”. Efforts are being made to preserve the cultural heritage of the Cistercians by z. B. historical and archaeological research are supported and funded.

See also

literature

Sorted by year of publication:

  • R. Goerz (ed.): The abbey church at Marienstatt near Hachenburg. Wiesbaden 1867. dilibri Rhineland-Palatinate
  • Jörg Ditscheid: The election of the Abbot Joseph Frosch of the Virgin Mary in 1784. In: Cistercienser Chronik. 108, 2001, SS 481-486.
  • Jörg Ditscheid: Brewing tradition in Marienstatt. In: Cistercian Chronicle. 115, 2008, pp. 73-80.
  • Jörg Ditscheid: The secularization of the Marienstatt Abbey in 1802/1803. In: Cistercian Chronicle. 119, 2012, pp. 177-235.
  • Hermann Josef Roth : The Marienstatt Abbey and the General Chapter of the Cistercians since 1459. In: Archive for Middle Rhine Church History. 22, 1970, pp. 93-127.
  • Hermann Josef Roth: Bibliography Marienstatt (= Marienstatter collected essays 4). In: school letter. 1970.
  • Hermann Josef Roth: Hot track in the choir stalls. Marienstatt Abbey and County Sayn reflected in internal tensions. In: Analecta Sacri Ordinis Cisterciensis. 59, 2009, pp. 386-400.
  • Marienstatt Abbey (Ed.): 750 years of Marienstatt Abbey Church. Book and art publisher Abtei Marienstatt, Marienstatt 1977.
  • Marienstatt Abbey (Ed.): 100 years of repopulation of Marienstatt Abbey 1888–1988. Book and art publisher Abtei Marienstatt, Marienstatt 1988.
  • Hans-Jürgen Kotzur (Ed.): High Gothic Dialogue. The sculptures of the high altars in Marienstatt and Oberwesel in comparison (exhibition catalog). Wernersche Verlagsgesellschaft, Worms 1993, ISBN 978-3-88462-106-6 .
  • Doris Fischer: The monastery church Marienstatt = preservation of monuments in Rhineland-Palatinate. Research reports 4. Wernersche Verlagsgesellschaft, Worms 1999, ISBN 3-88462-159-9 .
  • Hermann Josef Roth: Himmerod and Marienstatt. Possibilities of a comparison as a methodological suggestion. In: Cistercian Chronicle. 111, 2, 2004, pp. 205-214.
  • Wilhelm Buschulte : Marienstatt Abbey. Rhenish Association for Monument Preservation and Landscape Protection, Cologne 2008, ISBN 978-3-86526-023-9 .
  • Andreas Lechtape : Marienstatt Monastery. Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg 2005, ISBN 3-7954-1663-9 .
  • Wolf-Heino Struck: The Cistercian monastery Marienstatt (Westerwald) in the Middle Ages. Deeds, interest registers and Nekrolog. Historical Commission for Nassau, Wiesbaden 1965, ISBN 978-3-922244-22-6 .
  • Hermann Josef Roth: To books and libraries in the area of ​​the former Trier Lower Foundation (Westerwald, Lahn, Taunus). In: Libri pretiosi. Mitt. D. Bibliophile Society Trier. 13, 2010, ISBN 978-3-940760-21-0 , pp. 49-62
  • Hermann Josef Roth: Attempts to revive Eberbach monastery. In: AmrhKG. 63, 2011, pp. 265-284
  • Katharina Kasper. Fonts. Volume I. Kevelaer 2001, ISBN 3-7666-0323-X (Foundress of the Congregation of the Poor Maidservants of Jesus Christ).
  • Doris Fischer: Wood and stones teach you ... The restoration of the monastery church Marienstatt / Rhineland-Palatinate = preservation of monuments in Rhineland-Palatinate. Research reports 9. Wernersche Verlagsgesellschaft, Worms 2011, ISBN 978-3-88462-291-9 .
  • Christian Hillen: "See, here is the place ..." History of the Marienstatt Abbey. Böhlau-Verlag, Cologne a. a. 2012, ISBN 978-3-412-20924-7 .
  • Hermann Josef Roth: The courtyard of the Marienstatt monastery in Koblenz-Metternich. Notes on an inscription. In: CistC. 120, 1, 2013, pp. 53-56.
  • Forum Abtei Marienstatt eV (Ed.): Eight centuries of the Abtei Marienstatt. Jubilee - Abbots - Projects. Marienstatt 2014, ISBN 978-3-00-042103-7 .
  • Daniel Schneider: The development of denominations in the county of Sayn in the plan. In: Heimat-Jahrbuch des Kreis Altenkirchen. 58 (2015), pp. 74-80.
  • Bruno M. Struif: Marienstatt in the mirror of historical postcards. GeschichtsWerkstatt Hachenburg eV, 2016, ISSN  2196-3088 .

Movies

  • Virtual flight over the abbey grounds, on the abbey homepage
  • Place of silence: Marienstatt Abbey, on YouTube
  • Interview with Abbot Andreas Range, on YouTube
  • Expedition home: Marienstatt Abbey, on YouTube
  • Marienstatt and the Organ, on YouTube
  • Chamber of Crafts Koblenz: Brewing beer in the monastery, on YouTube
  • Marienstatt Abbey - in the Westerwald near Hachenburg, on YouTube
  • Marienstatt Abbey, on YouTube

Web links

Commons : Abtei Marienstatt  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ On the history of the Marienstatt Abbey ( Memento from December 11, 2017 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ↑ 800 years of Marienstatt. Highlights from the abbey history , p. 2 (for the year 1486).
  3. ^ Daniel Schneider: The development of denominations in the county of Sayn in the ground plan , in: Heimat-Jahrbuch des Kreis Altenkirchen 58 (2015), pp. 74-80.
  4. ↑ Katharina Kasper: Writings Volume I, p. 166ff. (Foundress of the Congregation for the Poor Maidservants of Jesus Christ.)
  5. ↑ Private high school of the Cistercian Abbey Marienstatt (ed.): One Hundred Year Book. 100 years of school in Marienstatt. 1910-2010. Oblate School - Progymnasium - Private Gymnasium. Festschrift with highlights from the anniversary school year 2009/2010. Marienstatt 2010. page 118
  6. ↑ Private high school of the Cistercian Abbey Marienstatt (ed.): One Hundred Year Book. 100 years of school in Marienstatt. 1910-2010. Oblate School - Progymnasium - Private Gymnasium. Festschrift with highlights from the anniversary school year 2009/2010. Marienstatt 2010. page 118
  7. ↑ http://www.abtei-marienstatt.de/start.php?aktiv=aktuelles&sub=chronik&jahr=2015
  8. ↑ http://www.abtei-marienstatt.de/start.php?aktiv=freundeskreis
  9. ↑ http://www.abtei-marienstatt.de/start.php?aktiv=forum
  10. ↑ https://www.abtei-marienstatt.de/angebote/forum-abtei-marienstatt/aktuelles/noch-fehlt-die-patina.html
  11. ↑ https://www.dbu.de/OPAC/ab/DBU-Abschlussbericht-AZ-20282.pdf
  12. ↑ https://www.dbu.de/OPAC/ab/DBU-Abschlussbericht-AZ-20282.pdf
  13. ↑ http://www.westerwaldverein.de/wanderwege/
  14. ↑ http://www.vg-altenkirchen.de/index.php?id=marienwanderweg
  15. ↑ a b Marienstatt Abbey: Brewing tradition in Marienstatt
  16. ↑ Bats love Marienstatter Klosterspeicher ( Memento from November 16, 2017 in the Internet Archive )
  17. ↑ http://www.gymnasium-marienstatt.de/upload/AG_bilder/Steckbriefe/fileadmin/AG_bilder/Steckbriefe/index.php?id=1230
  18. ↑ Cister.eu - European Charter of Cistercian Abbeys and Sites