Güterstein Charterhouse

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gütersteiner Klosterhof at the foot of the waterfalls today

The Güterstein Charterhouse was a Charterhouse near Bad Urach . However, the name Güterstein does not appear in the sources until the end of the 14th century.

history

Cistercian period

Konrad von Urach , cardinal and abbot general of the Cistercians , is said to have founded a monastery ad lapidem in the early 13th century , which his brother Rudolf von Urach later took care of. The sources for this early period are sparse. At the end of the Staufer period , when the Counts of Urach withdrew from the Ermstal , the first phase of the monastery also probably ended.

Benedictine period

Apparently the monastery was taken over by the Benedictines of Zwiefalten Abbey and experienced a heyday under them. The existence of the Marienkapelle in Güterstein is documented for the period around 1380, which was looked after by a Benedictine provost and apparently became a much-visited place of pilgrimage ; In addition, the monastery was promoted by its patrons , the Counts of Württemberg , and the lower nobility .

Carthusian era

In 1439 the time of the Benedictines in Güterstein ended for political reasons. Count Ludwig I and Ulrich V of Württemberg protected the Carthusians, to whom they had left the monastery in Güterstein and from whom they hoped for reforms in the monasteries in their domain, so that the Güterstein manor soon expanded to branch offices in Ehningen im Gäu and around Entringen near Tübingen could be expanded. With its numerous patronage rights , the order also had an influence on the filling of pastoral posts in the area. The monastery was financially secure and was expanded significantly until the end of the 15th century.

From 1441/1442 Güterstein was the burial place of the Counts of Württemberg, who ruled the southern part of the area after the division of the country according to the Nürtingen Treaty and resided at Urach Castle. Since numerous members of the ruling family died in quick succession, the monastery benefited from numerous foundations to commemorate the dead .

But not only the church politics of the sovereigns made the Charterhouse known. Twenty years after the Carthusian monastery settled in Güterstein, the prior of Güterstein received the order of monastery visitation in the reform bull Pope Pius II .

In the Güterstein Charterhouse, spiritual literature that was also aimed at laypeople was written. The spiritual conversation between a princess and a shopkeeper dates back to 1447 , a folk medicine book that uses the readers' interest in medical topics to convey spiritual content. The conversation quickly spread through transcripts and soon surfaced in Augsburg and Kirchheim im Ries.

The vernacular saints' lives and a printed rosary were also created in Güterstein. The alphabetum divini amoris ("Alphabet of divine love"), which was printed in Memmingen in 1493, was translated there . The translation into German was done by Johannes Mickel, who died in Güterstein in 1508. Another outstanding personality among the monks was the physician Dr. Thomas Finck (around 1455–1523).

The Gütersteiner monks Benedikt Eichel and Thilmann Mosenus belonged to the Diffinitor College of the General Chapter; The latter also played a not insignificant role in the Carthusian dispute with the beginning of the Reformation . The Güterstein Charterhouse was influential within its order because of its size - in addition to 20 religious cells, it had ten other cells for lay brothers.

The close ties to the Counts of Württemberg, which had also secured them even more power, gradually dissolved again. Count Eberhard V. founded the University of Tübingen in 1477 and in the same year called the brothers from living together to Urach, who, in contrast to the Carthusian monks, were active in pastoral care. Both measures again limited the importance of the Güterstein Charterhouse.

In 1535 the Reformation put an end to monastery life in Güterstein. Most of the monks moved to the Buxheim Charterhouse , so that an attempt to revive the Güterstein Charterhouse in 1550/1551 was doomed to failure. The former procurator of the Charterhouse, Johannes Frey, converted and became the first Protestant clergyman in Metzingen .

Buildings

Since the 18th century it has been said that Duke Ulrich von Württemberg had been turned away by the Güterstein monks while fleeing and that after his return to power he closed the monastery.

A Pfleghof the Charterhouse is still visible in Urach, but from the monastery itself almost nothing has been preserved in place. It consisted of a Marienkirche, a burial chapel, a pilgrims' chapel and the residential and economic facilities of the convent. Most of the buildings were demolished in the course of the Reformation; The princely burial place was initially preserved. Their remains, still recognizable in 1554, were transferred to the collegiate church in Tübingen. Among the preserved tombs is z. B. that of Archduchess Mechthild, which was possibly created around 1450 by Hans Multscher . The origin of the Passion Altar from 1512 in the parish church in Oberstenfeld from the Güterstein Charterhouse has not been proven with certainty .

The neighborhood of the Gütersteiner waterfalls made the former location of the Charterhouse attractive for future users, on the one hand because of the limestone tuff that was extracted there, on the other hand because of the spring water.

In 1715, Theodosius Ernst set up a water lift there, which supplied the ducal foal farm. Another stud farm was probably built on the site of the former farm yard of the monastery.

literature

  • Roland Deigendesch: The Güterstein Charterhouse . Jan Thorbecke Verlag, Leinfelden 2001, ISBN 978-3-7995-5239-4 ( writings on Southwest German regional studies . Vol. 39)
  • Fictional representation: Louise Pichler: Die Karthauser . Verlag Otto Risch, Stuttgart around 1890, ( Stories for the youth and the people . Volume 14, 2nd edition)
  • Peter Pfister : monastery leader of all Cistercian monasteries in the German-speaking area . Strasbourg, Munich 1998, p. 68.
  • Roland Deigendesch: Güterstein , in: Monasticon Cartusiense , ed. by Gerhard Schlegel, James Hogg, Volume 2, Salzburg 2004, 394–405.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://digital.ub.uni-duesseldorf.de/ink/content/pageview/3436322
  2. ^ Klaus Graf : Thomas Finck - doctor, Benedictine in Blaubeuren and Carthusian in Güterstein . In: Tübingen in teaching and research around 1500. Edited by Sönke Lorenz / Dieter Bauer / Oliver Auge (= Tübingen building blocks for regional history 9). Ostfildern 2008, pp. 159-175 ( online ).

Coordinates: 48 ° 29 ′ 28 ″  N , 9 ° 21 ′ 26 ″  E