Himmelspforte Wyhlen

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The gate of heaven, seen from the road to the Rührberg

The Himmelspforte is a former priory of the Premonstratensian order in Grenzach-Wyhlen . The Himmelspforte goes back to a monastery founded in 1303 and was rebuilt in the 18th century. It has been operated by the Catholic Church since 1900 and is now used as a private retirement home. The monastery chapel has an important baroque interior and was a place of pilgrimage in the Middle Ages.

location

The Himmelspforte Wyhlen is located in the Baden-Württemberg district of Lörrach , in the Wyhlen suburb of the Grenzach-Wyhlen community. The listed building ensemble is located on the edge of the village and forest above the village in the valley of the High Rhine at an altitude of around 305 meters. Immediately past it, the connecting road leads from Wyhlen to the north over the southern Black Forest foothills Rührberg and pass in the direction of Inzlingen .

history

Coat of arms with a "B" for Bellelay Abbey on the former monastery gate

Wyhlen Abbey was founded in 1303 as a foundation by the siblings Berta and Anna von Nollingen . 1406 was Coming of Abbey Bellelay in Bernese Jura , 1523 Bellelay Abbey incorporated by the pope altogether as a priory. It belonged to the area of ​​the Diocese of Constance , from 1821 to the Diocese of Freiburg . The Himmelspforte was initially part of the Swabian Order of the Premonstratensian Order , from 1523 to the Burgundy Circle and from 1670/72 again to the Swabian Circle. The monastery was consecrated first to the patronage of John the Baptist and evangelist , and later to the Virgin Mary and Saint Martin of Tours .

The monastery building was rebuilt in the 18th century. During the occupation by French troops in the course of the Napoleonic wars in 1797/98, the abbot, Ambroise Monnin , and the convent of Bellelay (Jura) fled to the Himmelspforte monastery in front of Austria . A "B" in the coat of arms at the former entrance to the monastery still indicates the Bellelay Abbey.

In the course of secularization , the Wyhlen monastery was abolished in 1806 (the convent in 1807) and incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Baden . For a while it was just a restaurant for a brewery.

At the end of the 19th century, the Catholic Church took over the property again. On May 29, 1900 the »Pension Himmelspforte in Wyhlen GmbH« was founded. With the participation of the church (parish, clergy in the area and church authorities) and residents of Wyhlen, the monastery buildings (excluding the pilgrimage church) could be purchased for 33,000 marks. From 1901 the Sisters of Mercy of St. Vinzenz von Paul from Freiburg im Breisgau a retreat and pension house in the former monastery . In 1913, the GmbH decided to convert the former economic building into a retreat house and renovate the pension house. Both buildings were reopened in 1914 with an attached house chapel and restaurant, also under the leadership of the Vincentian Sisters.

In 1922 Dominicans from the Neusatzeck monastery took over the management. During the Second World War, around 50 workers who were employed in the construction of the southernmost bunker of the West Wall in Wyhlen were quartered in the Himmelspforte house; from April 1943 to December 1944 the retreat house and the abbey building served as a hospital, transferred to the patient of the Lörracher Elisabethenkrankenhaus were.

After the end of the war, the previous operation was resumed. From 1960, the use changed more and more to a retirement home. In 1980 the old people's home buildings were fundamentally renovated and modernized, and an annex was added in 1992. From 1995 (introduction of long-term care insurance ), the care provision was carried out on an outpatient basis by cooperation partners. In 2005 a new common room was set up and the house chapel was redesigned, and in 2007 an extension wing with a winter garden as a connection between the old and new buildings was completed. Since then, the Himmelspforte house has served as a fully inpatient care home for around 30 residents of both sexes. The private senior citizens' home Himmelspforte Wyhlen is a non-profit company .

Monastery chapel

Main altar of the chapel with the miraculous image "Maria in the book"

The oldest parts of the former monastery chapel date from the second half of the 14th century. Badly damaged by fire in 1556, it was rebuilt from 1603 to 1614. The chapel of the monastery, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, has been preserved in its baroque shape. The baroque high altar with the miraculous image “Maria im Buchs”, two also baroque side altars, the late Gothic crucifix and the panel of the crucifixion of Christ are among the most important pieces of the interior.

The chapel got its name “Maria im Buchs” from a statue of the Virgin Mary, which was lost in the chaos of war and was accidentally rediscovered in the surrounding Buchwald in the 15th century . As a result of this event, the Heavenly Gate developed into a well-known regional pilgrimage site .

List of the abbots of the Himmelspforte monastery

  • John I 1303-1313
  • Hermann I. 1313-1325
  • Heinrich I 1325-1334
  • Benedict 1334– (?)
  • Peter I (before) 1359–1364 (?)
  • Heinrich II. 1364-1372
  • Wilhelm 1372-1389
  • John II (o. III.) 1389–1400
  • Andreas 1400–1405 (?)
  • John IV. 1405 (?) - 1414 (?)
  • John V 1414 (?) - 1426
  • Henry III. 1428-1440
  • Heinrich IV. 1440–?
  • John VI before 1448-1452
  • Henry V 1452–1471
  • Peter II. 1471-1479
  • Henry VI. 1479-1480
  • Peter III 1480-1488
  • Imerius 1488-1489
  • Peter VI 1489-1499
  • Himerius 1499-1523

from August 31, 1524 together with the Bellelay Monastery

  • Nicolaus I. Schnell 1508–1530 (new building of the Bellelay monastery)
  • John X. Gogniat 1530-1553
  • Servatius Fridez 1553–1561
  • Antonius Fottel 1561–1574
  • John XI. Simon 1574-1579
  • Werner Spießbrecher (Brieselance) 1579–1612
  • David Juillerat 1612-1637
  • John XII. Petrus Cuénat 1637-1666
  • John XIII Georgius Schwaller 1666–1691
  • Norbertus Périat 1691-1692
  • Fridericus de Staal 1692–1706
  • John XIV. Georgius Voirol 1706–1719
  • John XV Sémon 1719-1743
  • Gregorius Joliat 1743-1771
  • Nicolaus II. Deluce 1771-1784
  • Ambrosius Monnin 1784-1807

literature

Web links

Commons : Himmelspforte Wyhlen  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 47 ° 33 ′ 13.5 ″  N , 7 ° 41 ′ 34.2 ″  E