Schweiklberg Abbey

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Schweiklberg Abbey Church

The Abbey Schweiklberg is a monastery of the Benedictine Congregation of St. Ottilien in Vilshofen ( Lower Bavaria ). The main task of the monastery is mission .

history

In 1904 the Schweiklberg monastery was founded by Father Coelestin Maier (1871–1935) from St. Ottilien . The main task of the monastery was and is the training of missionary benedictines as well as the financial support of the mission work. The monastery buildings and the church were built between 1905 and 1925. In 1914 the previous Schweiklberg priory was elevated to an abbey . At the same time, the founder of the monastery, Coelestin Maier, became the first abbot of the growing monastery community. On April 2, 1941, the abbey was closed by the Gestapo and returned to the religious order after the collapse of the Third Reich in 1945. A monk from Schweiklberg, Father Cyprian Mayr , founded the Secular Institute St. Bonifatius in 1949 .

mission

The Congregation of St. Ottilien is a Benedictine Missionary Congregation. Since it was founded in 1884 by the Swiss Father Andreas Amrhein , the monks have been active in missions in Africa , South America and Asia . Many Schweiklberg monks were also active in the mission and are still active today, with around 10 monks in South Africa , Colombia , Kenya and Tanzania . Its main task is to found monasteries and parishes based on the Benedictine model and to build hospitals and schools. The monastery also runs a mission association, which primarily supports the mission financially. A mission flea market takes place once a month in Schweiklberg, the net proceeds of which are used entirely for the mission. The Missionary Congregation now operates around 50 monasteries around the world.

Buildings and facilities

Trinity Church

inside view

The abbey church, built in Art Nouveau style between 1909 and 1911 , was consecrated to the Most Holy Trinity in 1925 . The architect of the church was Michael Kurz . After a first redesign of the interior in 1971, the appearance was renewed again in 1998 with a touch of Art Nouveau. The choir room was decorated with African carvings by Benson Ndaka (Kenya) depicting the Way of the Cross .

There is a crypt under the choir . Externally, the church was redesigned in 1982. On the two towers, each 51 meters high, there are eight dials, one of which shows the position of the moon and the other the position of the sun . The Christ the King bell with a weight of 4.5 tons is located in the west tower. In the east tower there are five more bells with a total weight of 6.6 tons.

Organs

View of the main organ

2000, the new one was the organ of the company Klais with 87 registers and 5769 pipes inaugurated. The main organ of the abbey church has 52 stops on three manuals and a pedal . The Spieltrakturen are mechanically, the Registertrakturen electrically.

I main work C – a 3
01. Principal 16 ′
02. Principal 08th'
03. Wooden flute 08th'
04th Gamba 08th'
05. Octave 04 ′
06th Transverse flute 04 ′
07th Fifth 02 2 ⁄ 3  ′
08th. Super octave 02 ′
09. Mixture V 01'
10. Scharff III 02 ⁄ 3 ′
11. Trumpet 08th'
II Positive C – a 3
12. Quintatön 16 ′
13. Principal 08th'
14th Concert flute 08th'
15th Night horn 08th'
16. Dolkan 04 ′
17th Reed flute 04 ′
18th Nasard 02 2 ⁄ 3  ′
19th Flageolet 02 ′
20th third 01 3 ⁄ 5  ′
21st Seventh 01 1 ⁄ 7  ′
22nd Fifth 01 1 ⁄ 3  ′
23. Mixture IV-V 01 1 ⁄ 3  ′
24. Rankett 16 ′
25th Schalmey 08th'
Tremulant
III Swell C – a 3
26th Drone 16 ′
27. Principal 08th'
28. Double flute 08th'
29 Gemshorn 08th'
30th Delicate violin 08th'
31. Beat 08th'
32. Octave 04 ′
33. Soft flute 04 ′
34. Monastery flute 02 ′
35. Mixture V 02 ′
36. Bombard 16 ′
37. Trumpet harm. 08th'
38. Hautbois 08th'
39. Vox humana 08th'
40. Clairon harm. 04 ′
Tremulant
Pedal C – f 1
41. Pedestal 32 ′
42. Principal bass 16 ′
43. Sub bass 16 ′
44. Subtle bass 16 ′
45. Octavbass 08th'
46. violoncello 08th'
47. Dacked bass 08th'
48. Chorale flute 04 ′
49. Mixture IV 02 2 ⁄ 3  ′
50. trombone 16 ′
51. Trumpet 08th'
52. Clarine 04 ′

The choir organ was also built by the Klais organ building company. The slider chest instrument dates from 2000 and was placed in two cases (epistle page and gospel page). It has a total of 36 stops on three manuals and a pedal. The performance and stop actions are electric, with the exception of the performance actions on the gospel side, which are mechanical.

I main work C – a 3
(Gospel page)
01. Drone 16 ′
02. Principal 08th'
03. Corno dolce 08th'
04th viola 08th'
05. Octave 04 ′
06th Reed flute 04 ′
07th Super octave 02 ′
08th. Mixture IV 01 1 ⁄ 3  ′
09. Trumpet 0 8th'
II threshold positive C-a 3
(Gospel page)
10. Flauto amabile 08th'
11. Salicional 08th'
12. Unda maris 08th'
13. Funnel flute 04 ′
14th Dolce 04 ′
15th Flautino 02 ′
16. Triplet 02 2 ⁄ 3  ′
17th third 01 3 ⁄ 5  ′
18th Piccolo 01'
19th Bassethorn 08th'
III Swell C – a 3
(Epistle page)
20th Harmonica 16 ′
21st Violin principal 08th'
22nd Flûte harmonique 08th'
23. Aeoline 08th'
24. Vox coelestis 08th'
25th Flute 04 ′
26th violin 04 ′
27. Salicet 02 ′
28. Harm. aeth. IV 02 2 ⁄ 3  ′
29 Euphon 08th'
Pedal C – f 1
(Gospel page)
30th Sub bass 16 ′
31. Octave 08th'
32. Pointed flute 08th'
33. Super octave 04 ′
34. bassoon 16 ′
(Epistle page)
35. Harmonica 16 ′
36. Principal 08th'
  • Coupling : II / I, III / I, III / II, I / P, II / P, III / P

monastery

The monastery building, in which the convent is located, is connected to the church on the east side and is very clearly visible from the city due to the high position of the Schweiklberg . It is firmly imprinted on the silhouette of Vilshofen. This building was completely renovated outside and inside between 1999 and 2002. The entire roof and the external facades were renewed, inside all monk cells were equipped with bathrooms and also technically modernized. There is a library in the monastery with around 150,000 books. During the occupation by the Gestapo , however, many books critical of Nazi and Jewish were sorted out. The monastery also has its own infirmary where the old and sick monks are cared for. In addition to the refectory , the cloister around the two inner courtyards, the sacristy , the gate, the administration and the premises of the mission association, there is also a chapel in which the monks pray daily on the ground floor .

school

One of the first facilities that the founding abbot Coelestin Maier set up was the school and boarding school . The boarding school attached to the grammar school was closed in the 1990s. Since 1999, a six-level secondary school has been built and at the same time the grammar school, which only existed up to the tenth grade, was closed. In 2004 the last high school students left school and in 2005 the first high school students in Schweiklberg graduated from secondary school. Between 2003 and 2004 the entire old building was completely renovated and brought up to the latest technical standards. In the course of the renovation work, a completely new building was attached to the school building in 2002, which now houses a spacious break hall and the science rooms. Michael Zenger has been the director of the secondary school since February 21, 2011. The school, which is attended by 347 students today, has a tutorial , a wind class, a football class, an open all-day school and special sports funding.

Keep

The property is mentioned in a document as early as the 16th century as "Meierhof bei Oberhaus" and belonged to the respective Passau bishop. The property, which has been known as the Landrichterhof since 1707, served as a farm for the House of Lords. After the Prince-Bishop of Passau separated from this court in 1784, the owners often changed, especially in the 19th century. One of them, engineer Müller, opened a so-called steel bath in the court of the district judge in 1901 and called it the “keep”. It continued to exist after Müller's death in 1907, but its operation was discontinued in connection with the outbreak of the First World War. In January 1918, the Schweiklberg Abbey under Abbot Coelestin Maier bought the former Bergfried steel baths to accommodate their pupils who were attending the final classes of the humanistic grammar school there in Passau . Bergfried fulfilled this purpose until 1986. In the 1990s, the house was transformed from a preparatory college into a house of silence and contemplation. In doing so, the abbey - in accordance with its missionary mandate - enabled individual guests and groups to find silence and prayer. In November 2006 this house closed its doors due to a lack of staff.

Schweiklberg spirit

The Schweiklberger mind is a medicinal herb - distillate , which is now known far beyond the borders of Schweiklberg out. Every year around 50,000–60,000 bottles are produced in the monastery's own spirit distillery and sent all over the world. The secret recipe was acquired by Abbot Coelestin Maier in the early days of the monastery.

Africa Museum

The Africa Museum in 2014

A variety of exhibits of traditional African art and ethnology are publicly exhibited in the Africa Museum. These come from returning missionaries, from donations and acquisitions from private collections. A total of over 800 objects from various African tribes are presented in the stand and reclining showcases.

Convention

Before the Second World War , the monastery had its heyday with 155 monks. Although 35 monks were killed in this war, the monastery flourished again in the 1960s with over 130 members. 21 monks currently live there (as of April 2019).

Abbots

photos

  • Schweiklberg library

  • View from Schweiklberg Monastery

  • Schweiklberg Monastery (parapet)

Movies

  • Danube monasteries: All over the world - Schweiklberg Abbey , 2001

literature

  • Hans Bauernfeind: Like a storm wind. Thomas Graf OSB (1902-1941). 2. Abbot von Schweiklberg - a key figure in the liturgical movement . Münsterschwarzach 2005, ISBN 3-87868-176-3
  • Christian Baumann: Time out for God. The silence of Schweiklberg, life behind monastery walls . Norderstedt 2007, ISBN 978-3-8334-9974-6
  • Dietram Färber: Chronicle of the time of the abbey of Schweiklberg. April 2, 1941 to May 18, 1945 . Schweiklberg 1948
  • Dietram Färber: Schweiklberg under the Gestapo rule 1941–1945 . In: Frumentius Renner (ed.): The five-armed candlestick. Contributions to the development and work of the Benedictine Congregation of St. Ottilien , vol. 3: The Ottilian monasteries in Europe since the Second Vatican Council with flashbacks . St. Ottilien 1990, ISBN 3-88096-699-0 , pp. 230-292
  • Herbert Folger: Benedictine Abbey Schweiklberg . Schweiklberg Abbey 1960
  • Herbert Folger: Life and death of the most revered Mr. Thomas Aqu. Count from the Order of Saint Benedict, World Wisdom and Divine Doctrine, Second Abbot of the Monastery of the Most Holy Trinity in Schweiklberg, born on November 22nd, 1902, died on March 24th, 1941 . Schweiklberg 1948
  • Martin Freundorfer: From the “Landrichterhof” of the Prince-Bishop of Passau to the “Christ the King's House” of the Benedictine abbey Schweiklberg . In: Ostbairische Grenzmarken: Passauer Jahrbuch für Geschichte, Kunst und Volkskunde , vol. 44 (2002), pp. 85-102
  • Martin Freundorfer: The history of the Benedictine keep 1917-1936 . In: Ostbairische Grenzmarken , vol. 46 (2004), pp. 193-209
  • Martin Freundorfer: The history of the Benedictine keep 1937-1965 . In: Passauer Jahrbuch. Contributions to the history and culture of Eastern Bavaria , vol. 48 (2006), pp. 165–180
  • Matthäus Kroiss: Schweiklberg Abbey . In: Frumentius Renner (ed.): The five-armed candlestick. Contributions to the development and work of the Benedictine Congregation of St. Ottilien , vol. 3: The Ottilian monasteries in Europe since the Second Vatican Council with flashbacks . St. Ottilien 1990, pp. 197-229
  • Hartmut Madl: Father Coelestin Maier (1871-1935). Founding abbot of the Schweiklberg Mission Monastery and Apostolic Administrator in temporalibus of the Congregation of the Mission Benedictines of St. Ottilien . Duschl, Winzer 1999, ISBN 3-933047-18-8
  • Christian Schütz: The Trinity Organ of the Schweiklberg Abbey Church . Duschl, Winzer 2000, ISBN 3-933047-45-5
  • Christian Schütz, Martin Freundorfer: O Lux Beata Trinitas. One hundred years of Schweiklberg monastery. 1904-2004 . Passau 2005, ISBN 3-932949-43-9

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Trinity organ on the monastery website
  2. ^ Choir organ Johannes Klais Orgelbau, Bonn
  3. ↑ Africa Museum on the website of the monastery
  4. ^ Official website of the Mission Benedictines ( Memento from October 23, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  5. ↑ Erbe und Einsatz , Vol. 93 (2017), p. 364.
  6. ↑ Vilshofener Anzeiger: Change at the head of Schweiklberg Monastery . December 16, 2019 ( pnp.de [accessed December 17, 2019]).

Web links

Commons : Schweiklberg Abbey  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 48 ° 37 ′ 45.9 ″  N , 13 ° 10 ′ 32.4 ″  E