Bestwig mountain monastery
| Bestwig mountain monastery | |
|---|---|
 The entire building complex of the monastery and school |
|
| location | Bergkloster Bestwig, Zum Bergkloster, 59909 Bestwig |
| Lies in the diocese | Diocese of Paderborn |
| Coordinates: | 51 ° 21 '36.8 " N , 8 ° 24' 19.9" E |
| founding year | 1862 by order of the Heiligenstadt School Sisters |
| Year of dissolution / annulment |
Closure during the Kulturkampf in 1877 |
| Year of repopulation | Reopening in 1887, new construction of the monastery in Bestwig in 1965/68 |
The Bestwig Mountain Monastery in Bestwig is the motherhouse of the European Province of the Sisters of St. Maria Magdalena Postel . The Bergkloster Bestwig vocational college also belongs to the mountain monastery.
monastery
The traditional seat of the Generalate of the German Congregation of Sisters was Heiligenstadt im Eichsfeld . As a result of the division of Germany, the novitiate was moved to Geseke as early as 1947 .
Against the background of the political development in the GDR and the difficult to maintain connection to the branches in West Germany and those in the developing countries, there were considerations to relocate the headquarters. After the wall was built in 1961, the community looked for a permanent seat in western Germany.
From the start it was planned to found a school with the monastery. The sisters chose Bestwig . The then Paderborn Bishop Lorenz Jaeger played an important role in the settlement in the Sauerland, because he believed that there were still deficits in the local school landscape. The original use of the former Glindfeld Monastery was discarded for practical reasons. Instead, properties in Bestwig have been acquired by the von Lüninck family, among others, since 1962 .
Construction of the school and monastery began there in 1965. The sisters were able to move into the new house in 1968. The first convent consisted of seven sisters. Today around 90 sisters live there.
The name Bergkloster is based on that of the house in Heiligenstadt . The monastery church, which is consecrated to the Holy Trinity, was consecrated three years after the entry of the convent. In the following decades, numerous additions and alterations were made to the monastery buildings.
The General Chapter of the Order decided in 2002/2003 to unite the East and West German Order Province with the Dutch one to form a European Province. The seat is in Bestwig. The Generalate of the Order is back in Heiligenstadt.
The monastery offers many opportunities for spiritual contemplation. The retreats are open to women and men of all ages.
professional school
In the adjacent vocational school in Year 35 training places for were pediatric nurses and teachers set up. Over the decades, the school expanded more and more. Today the vocational college and the health academy have their own buildings.
Around 900 pupils are taught there. In addition to the courses at the vocational grammar school and the technical college for design or social and health care, educators, design assistants , and occupational and physiotherapists are trained there. A boarding school has also been part of it since the 1970s.
Other facilities
In addition, the monastery participates in an employment company for the long-term unemployed, operates a large occupational therapy practice, a carpentry shop and a gardening shop. Courses and seminars are also offered. A guest house with 43 beds is available for this. With around 200 employees today, the monastery is one of the largest employers in Bestwig. The Dreifaltigkeitskirche is used for church services and events .
Web links
- 200 years of the Sisters of St. Maria Magdalena Postel, 40 years of Bergkloster Bestwig. PDF file
- Homepage of the Bergkloster vocational school
Individual evidence
- ↑ SMMP - Guest in the Monastery , accessed on April 6, 2012.
- ↑ Klosterportal - Bergkloster Bestwig ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 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. Retrieved April 6, 2012
