Barbara von Heppenheim called from the hall

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Barbara von Heppenheim called from the hall, on her grave slab. Above left the father's family coat of arms with three diamonds

Barbara von Heppenheim called vom Saal († October 14, 1567 in Kerzenheim , Rosenthalerhof ) was a noblewoman from the family of the Lords of Heppenheim called vom Saal and abbess of the Cistercian convent Rosenthal (Palatinate) .

Parentage and family

She was born as the daughter of Anton von Heppenheim called vom Saal and his wife Katharina von Oberstein . Her brother Johannes von Heppenheim called vom Saal († 1555) acted as cathedral dean in Speyer , brother Andreas († 1568) was canon in Worms . The vicar general Johannes Brenner von Löwenstein († 1537) was one of her cousins.

Live and act

Grave slab in the Rosenthal church ruins

Barbara von Heppenheim called vom Saal became a Cistercian in the monastery Rosenthal near Grünstadt . After the plunder of the monastery in 1525, in the Palatinate Peasants' War , under Abbess Barbara Göler of Ravensburg († 1535), she was elected abbess as Barbara II of Rosenthal on April 4, 1535. The Eberbach abbot Wendelin von Boppard confirmed her election as spiritual superior of the convent.

The monastery had fallen into poverty through the passage of time. The new abbess took over a cash sum of 92 guilders with a debt of 70 guilders. In addition, she was given a silver cross, a silver monstrance and 4 silver goblets, as the remainder of the monastery treasure that was previously available. Everything else was lost.

During her tenure, the Reformation spread more and more and Abbess Barbara tried her best to preserve the monastery, alienating some of her property in the surrounding territories. The monastery itself belonged to the county of Nassau-Weilburg. Even though the sovereign Philip III. († 1559) was already promoting the new faith, he left the monastery Rosenthal undisturbed, which remained so until his death. It may have played a role here that three of his daughters lived there as religious women.

His son Philip IV of Nassau-Weilburg implemented the Reformation more energetically and dissolved the convent in 1572 under the next abbess.

Barbara von Heppenheim, called vom Saal, did not experience this anymore. She died in Rosenthal in 1567 and was buried in the monastery. Your high-quality tombstone with full relief is preserved in the ruins of the church there. According to the historian Michael Frey , she ruled “laudably” .

literature

  • Franz Xaver Remling : Documented history of the former abbeys and monasteries in what is now Rhine Bavaria. Volume 1. Self-published, Neustadt an der Haardt 1836, pp. 290–291 .
  • Michael Frey : Attempt at a geographical-historical-statistical description of the can. bayer. Rhine circle. Volume 1. Neidhard, Speyer, 1837, p. 204 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Gravestone of Abbess Barbara von Heppenheim ( Memento from December 8, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
personal data
SURNAME Heppenheim called vom Saal, Barbara von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Heppenheim vom Saal, Barbara von; Barbara II of Rosenthal
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Noblewoman, Cistercian, abbess in the monastery Rosenthal (Palatinate)
DATE OF BIRTH 15th century or 16th century
DATE OF DEATH October 14, 1567
Place of death Candle home , Rosenthalerhof