Carmelite Monastery of Geldern

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The Carmelite Monastery of Geldern was the most important of the five medieval monasteries in Geldern on the Lower Rhine . It existed from 1306 to 1802.

history

The monastery was founded in 1306 by Count Rainald I von Geldern . Numerous alterations to the monastery church of St. Maria Magdalena and the Carmelite monastery itself have been handed down from 1339 onwards . In honor of Count Rainald II , the son of the founder, the convent was expanded in 1340 and a cloister was built. During the War of the Spanish Succession , Geldern was bombed by the Prussians in 1703 and besieged for eight months. The monastery was also damaged in the process. After the occupation of the Rhineland by French troops, the monastery was secularized in 1802 and the monastery church was converted into a parish church. After 1808, most of the monastery buildings were gradually demolished. Only the pastorate building remained until today. The city library built in 1969 now stands on parts of the foundation walls of the former Carmelite monastery.

The Carmelite Monastery of Geldern was the home convent of Gottfried von Greveray (1415–1504), the auxiliary bishop in Cambrai , who in 1478 gave the city of Geldern the relics of the two saints Galen and Valenus (see Ten Thousand Martyrs ). Since then, the two martyrs have been the patron saints of the city of Geldern.

The extensive monastery archive is now kept in the main state archive in Düsseldorf .

The Carmelite Convent

North of the Carmelite Monastery was from the late Middle Ages, a Carmelite . Before 1400 there were three beguinages on Veerter Straße (today: Am Treppchen) in Geldern . Around 1400 these farms joined together to form a single community, which can be found in the chronicle of the Carmelite monastery in Geldern under the name Ten Elsen . In 1452 the Ten Elsen were officially confirmed by the Pope and accepted into the Carmelite Order. This is how the first Carmelite monastery came into being in Geldern. In 1802 this convention was also abolished. The monastery buildings fell victim to the bombing raids in 1945 and were completely demolished. The extension building "Am Treppchen" of the Realschule am Westwall has been on the property since 1986 .

See also: History of the Beguines in Geldern

archeology

While numerous building reports have been handed down for the former monastery chapel of St. Maria Magdalena, there are only a few sources of historical research for the actual monastery buildings. Much information about the building history of the monastery has meanwhile been obtained through archaeological excavations. During the construction of the parish hall in 1998, under the direction of Dr. Stefan Frankewitz (City Archives Geldern) excavated the remains of the northeastern walls of the cloister from the 14th century, which showed clear signs of destruction as a result of the bombardment of Geldern in 1703. The construction of the library across from the Church of St. Maria Magdalena was not archaeologically monitored.

Further archaeological investigations took place in autumn 2008 on the occasion of the redesign of the church square of St. Maria Magdalena. The foundations of a connecting passage between the Carmelite monastery and the west portal of the church were explored.

Monument protection

The area of ​​the monastery is a ground monument according to the law for the protection and care of monuments in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (Monument Protection Act - DSchG) . Investigations and targeted collection of finds are subject to approval, and accidental finds are reported to the monument authorities.

literature

  • Stefan Frankewitz : The monuments of the city of Geldern (= Geldrisches Archive 6). Boss-Dr.-und-Medien, Geldern et al. 2001, ISBN 3-933969-12-3 .
  • Stefan Frankewitz: The Geldrischen offices of Geldern, Goch and Straelen in the late Middle Ages (= publications of the historical association for Geldern and the surrounding area 87). Historical association for money and the surrounding area, Geldern 1986, ISBN 3-921760-14-3 (also: Bonn, Univ., Diss., 1984).
  • Stefan Frankewitz: The Carmelite Monastery in Geldern in the Middle Ages. In: Geldrischer Heimatkalender. 1975, ZDB -ID 402383-3 , pp. 277-284.
  • Georg Dehio , Ernst Gall : Handbook of German art monuments. North Rhine-Westphalia. Volume 1: Rhineland. Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich 1967, p. 201.
  • Christoph Josten: Catholic parish church St. Maria Magdalena. Geldern (= Schnell Art Guide 2592). Schnell and Steiner, Regensburg 2004, ISBN 3-7954-6543-5 .
  • Karl Keller, Rolf Nagel, Peter Stenmans: Contributions to the church and school history of the Gelderland (= publications of the historical association for Geldern and the surrounding area 104). Historical association for Geldern and the surrounding area, Geldern 2004, ISBN 3-921760-40-2 , pp. 9–287.
  • M. Josefine Ther: The world's first Carmelite monastery was on Veerter Strasse in Geldern. About the three monasteries of the Carmel order in Geldern and Nieukerk and their significance for the history of the order. In: Geldrischer Heimatkalender. 1975, ZDB -ID 402383-3 , pp. 114-119.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Keller u. a. 2004, pp. 48-49.
  2. ↑ Cf. Keller u. a. 2004.
  3. ↑ Ther 1974, 116, pp. 48-50.
  4. ↑ Ther 1974, 116, pp. 58-65.
  5. ↑ Frankewitz 1998, 280f.
  6. ↑ Law on the protection and maintenance of monuments in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (Monument Protection Act - DSchG)

Coordinates: 51 ° 31 ′ 3 ″  N , 6 ° 19 ′ 11 ″  E