Poor Clare Monastery of Saint Clara

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The Poor Clare Monastery of St. Clara in Cologne was a settlement of the Poor Clares , the "Second Order of St. Francis ". The community of the Poor Clares follows the example of St. Francis of Assisi and St. Clare of Assisi (1193–1253).

The monastery complex at the height of today's Roman tower was moved into in 1306 and existed as a convent until secularization in 1802.

Fresco of St. Clare by Simone Martini in the chapel of the lower church of the Basilica of San Francesco in Assisi (14th century)

prehistory

According to today's name, the later monastery grounds lay within the streets “Auf dem Berlich”, Zeughausstraße, St. Apernstraße and Breite Straße . The area initially consisted of vineyards and kitchen gardens; the buildings were, beginning at Berlich, on the north side of the site.

St. Clara Monastery and Church, Cologne. Mercator Plan 1571

In connection with the acquisition of the land for the Clarissen monastery in Cologne, one of Cologne's early mayors was mentioned as the owner of the property . It was "Richolf Parfus (e)", who owned an estate in the northwest of the district of the old Roman city , which was mentioned as early as 1220 and which he had received as a fief from Count Wilhelm von Holland (before 1265) . The area in question was a farm yard with a few outbuildings, the property of which reached an area of ​​about 62 ares . The property was on the north-west corner of the old Roman wall and extended northwards along the 80-meter-long wall between the so-called “Parfusen-Wichhaus” and the (later called) Klarenturm. To the west of the property was the stretch of the wall of the old fortification, about 105 meters long, between a corner tower and the next half tower. Immediately next to the Klarenturm, a small gate (Löwenpforte) also enabled access to the property from the lower ditch, which was later given the name Zeughausstraße.

Foundation, endowment

In May 1265 the ownership changed. Count Wilhelm von Jülich and his wife Richardis now acquired the property ( in angulo veterum murorum exopposito porte, que levenporze dicitur ) of Werner, son and heir of Richolf Parfus (e).

Countess Richardis and her sons Walram († 1297) and Gerhard donated funds for the construction of a Franciscan monastery in honor of St. Clara with the permission of Pope Benedict and Archbishop Wigbold of Cologne . The foundation took place at the latest in 1297, the year of death of the co-founder Walram.

In the entries of the responsible shrine district of St. Christoph in 1306, notes were entered for five objects. The relevant records stated:

Ptp. 1306 5 dom .: dom., Quam inhabitat Gertrudis de Julianco, iuxta amtiquum murum extra portam Leonis versus s. Aprum; dom. contigua; dom. tertia (left to the conventus see Clare in Colonia construendus); 2 dom. contigue (sold by Gertrudis de Julianco) .

Reconstruction of the courtyard

The first nuns of the new Cologne convent came from the Neuss Poor Clare Monastery . They were placed under the order of the Franciscans ( fratres minores , Friars Minor or Minorites). On August 26, 1304 Ricarda's son Gerhard IV. Von Jülich confirmed the donation to the lay judges of the St. Kolumba district and stated that his mother, his brother Walram (Walramus) and he himself had the area in "platea berlinc", which was previously Richolf Parfuse's son Werner had belonged to the building of the monastery. The legacy of the founder, who died in 1304, and her sons secured the financing of the new construction and reconstruction of the planned monastery complex, which began in March 1306. Some of the residential and farm buildings of the former "Parfusenhof" were appropriately prepared and still used. The preliminary building arrangement, including the front and the north-western corner tower, formed a cross courtyard with an area of ​​around 32 × 35 meters. The north wing of the enclosure was probably connected to a first small oratory , which was consecrated in the presence of Archbishop Heinrich on August 12, 1306, the feast day of St. Clare, for the purpose of the convent . In 1309 the convent was granted a papal privilege which granted it tax exemption.

Foundations, dowries, annuities, interest income and privileges

As with many convents founded, but also after their establishment, the monasteries received large donations and contributions from farms, land, pensions and natural goods. The first nuns sent from Neuss were joined by daughters from well-known families in the city of Cologne, but also daughters from aristocratic families in the vicinity. With their dowries they contributed to the fact that the property of the respective monastery increased rapidly. The income then obtained from the land, which was mostly leased , ensured, along with other income, growing prosperity.

On June 16, 1335, Cunigunde, the widow of Hermann von Metternich, announced that she and Heinrich, Johann, Lodewich, Hermann, Arnold, Kathryn - a nun - and Nesa, their children and heirs, the abbess of the convent of St. Clara zu Cologne sold the "Hoff zu Roistorp" with 100 acres of arable land, 8 acres of vineyards and 50 acres of bush for 100 marks in Cologne pennies. Hermann von Roisdorf, along with others, witnessed this sale. In 1349, the knight Hermann von Roisdorf himself gave the Cologne Clarissi Monastery, which his daughter Irmgard had entered, a morning of vineyard in Bornheim . Details on the Roisdorf possessions, which probably existed until secularization, can still be called up in the NRW archives today.

A not insignificant reason for the large number of monasteries in the medieval city ​​- and also the reason for the growing prosperity - was the tax exemption, which the city reluctantly granted them due to traditional papal privileges .

Expansions under new management

Between the years 1328 and 1335, Isabella and Philippina, daughters of Count Rainald von Geldern , entered the monastery. Isabella, who a few years later became the second abbess of the monastery (she was attested as such in 1340 and 1343) and her sister Philippina, with the help of her brother Reinald, made it possible to build a larger new church. Due to insufficient funds, however, the work that had begun came to a standstill in 1343.

A resumption of building activities was probably made possible by good relations between the abbess and the Archbishop of Cologne, since a special papal indulgence for the building of the church, probably obtained by Walram von Jülich , could be used. As the inscription on the high altar of the monastery church shows, the new building was completed and inaugurated in 1347.

Scriptorium

Sheet of a book of the hours of prayer ( antiphonals ) from the scriptorium

Around 1340 the Minorites gave up their scriptorium for the production of manuscripts because of the emigration of the leading illuminator of their convent to Trier . This monastic opportunity to earn a living, which had come to a standstill, was now taken over by the Poor Clares, who were still subordinate to the Minorites. The work then carried out in their scriptorium closed a " gap in the market " that had arisen , and the profits made through contract work contributed to improving the economic situation.

Over a period of about 45 years, from 1315 to 1360, the nuns of St. Klara worked as illuminators. They stood in the tradition of the Cologne Minorites, whose art of illumination they had adopted. In their scriptorium they produced finely decorated, large-format manuscripts , which were combined into so-called codices . They were individual pieces with artistically painted letters , miniatures and often works with notes that they created for their own use, but also as commissioned work. As a rule, the production of a piece was a joint effort by the religious nuns who mastered Latin .

Exceptions were the works of Hadwig vom Horne and that of Loppa vom Spiegel, daughter of the Cologne patrician and mayor Heinrich vom Spiegel (1332). The latter was the most important illuminator of the Poor Clare Monastery (around 1315, before 1360). Due to her artistic talents, she was responsible for writing the text, drawing the staves, entering the notes and designing the book decorations.

Loppa was also responsible for the preparation of the work known today as the “Rennenberg Codex”, which was commissioned by the cathedral dean Konrad von Rennenberg around 1350 for the cathedral chapter . This Rennenberg Codex (Cathedral Library Cod. 149) and the two-volume Brussels Missal with winter and summer parts ( Royal Library of Brussels , Ms. 212, Ms. 209) are considered to be outstanding Gothic illuminations of these works of art created in Cologne by Clarissess Lopa .

Further development

The now established in Cologne Cathedral Clear altar , a triptych incurred in 1350, was originally in the Cologne Franciscan Church

One hundred years later, at a time when valuable inventory was being acquired by the convent, there is a report from the “Rütger von Gymnich”, rent master of the monastery. He described in 1456 some of the internals of the now grown convention: The old kitchen (probably that of Parfusehofs) supplied three refectory , one each in the upper and lower floors, as well as to the chapter house , as this well as due to a high number of Konventualinnen refectory served . The "Stechuis" was the name of the dormitory , the large common dormitory of the nuns. The gate of the monastery complex at that time was "next to the tower", possibly the tower that was later called the "Roman tower" was meant. The monastery grounds grew through the purchase of some built-up plots to the east (on the Berlich) so that the vineyards and inner courtyard could be significantly expanded.

External church structure

St. Clara, next to the Roman tower (around 1670)

The building was a single-nave east-facing church in Gothic style . It reached a measure of about 7 meters wide by 30 meters long and rested with its north wall on the foundation of the old north-western city wall. The nave and choir were divided into five bays, the pressure of their vaulted ceiling was absorbed by integrated pillars . On its north side, S. Clara had low aisle-like, approximately 3 meters deep additions under the buttresses . There was a small gable-crowned side entrance in the middle, which led to the deeper ditch area (the later Zeughausstrasse). The nun's choir was added at the same height to the eastern main nave , which ended in the form of a five-sided octagon with an eastern apse . On the north side of the church there was a tower-like extension at the height of the last yoke. This reached the attic level as a spiral staircase at a height of about 20 meters and also served as an external access to the nun's gallery. The narrow tower staircase can be seen in its entirety at Mercator, on the representation of Finkenboom you can see the pointed end of the stairs. In the western third of the continuous, steep saddle roof , a four-sided bell rider with a tapered openwork helmet, decorated with eyelashes and covered with lead, was mounted on a corner . In addition, the roof ridge was decorated with applied crosses at its ends. In addition to the slender western gable, the church was connected to the north-western S. Klarenturm, today's Römerturm , by an extension (or the old part of the battlements leading to the tower) .

inner space

Triptych from the abandoned monastery church. Made 1340–50, today in the Wallraf-Richartz-Museum in Cologne. On the crucifixion shown in the middle field (0.65 × 0.48), the donor kneels at the foot of the cross in the costume of the Franciscan Sisters

Inside there was supposed to have been a nuns' gallery shielded from the east , in which there were barred windows and doors that were curtained on the back. According to one of Boisserée's descriptions , a lettner-like walkway accessible via a side staircase was presented to her front, which made it possible to receive communion and which was to be found in many monastery churches of nuns. On an altar table on the east wall probably stood the meditation triptych created by an unknown artist from Cologne around 1340/50 . It is not certain whether the two daily conventual masses were read by the Minorites before this . Little is known about the function of the gallery altar and the changes in customs. The clear retable set up today in Cologne Cathedral, with its width of over six meters, was probably the high altar of the church, but its date is known, from when it was in St. Clara, but not. Boisserée was also unable to obtain any verifiable knowledge of details of the Cologne Poor Clare Convention.

Monastery complex

The greater part of the monastery was on the south side of the church building. The Gerkammer and the Chapter House (as a meeting place and remter) were connected to the eastern approach to the Kreuzhof : Both were arranged in such a way that they leaned against the monastery kitchen in the southeast corner of the Kreuzhof. The south wing contained a large remter on the first floor. Above this was the dormitory of the convent. The west wing contained some storerooms and workshops as well as the accommodations of the lay sisters . The adjoining outer wing contained consulting and guest rooms and provided access to the inner courtyard (Berlich gate), the bakery and the tree and vineyards of the monastery. As a result of the acquisitions of adjoining properties in 1318, 1336 and 1347, the monastery area extended to the backyards and gardens of the residents of "Breitestrasse".

The monastery, which ensured its water supply through its own well , evidently channeled its sewage through the monastery wall onto the street without worrying. In 1344, in a dispute over water law with the city, the convent management committed to building a septic tank . For this purpose, it was noted in the shrine entry: S. Clara undertakes to hold the water that used to go through our wall at the back into the common street to S. Apern .

Towers of the monastery wall and surroundings

Klarenturm around 1660/70

The north-western corner tower (clear then Römerturm) of the Roman city wall also marked the boundary of the monastery grounds, which bent there to the southwest. The defense tower , popularly known as the “Clarenturm” after the convent was founded , was structurally connected to the west and north wings of the monastery. It had been equipped by the convent with a retracted latrine shaft, which had been provided with the necessary ventilation ending in a roof structure. If a plot of land or a house was sold in the vicinity of the tower, the entry said, for example, before, after or next Cloaca in fine retro monast. s. Clara . It was used in the frequent entries in the shrine as an additional reference for determining the location.

The upper floor of the “Klarenturm”, as well as the layout of the eastern “Parfusenturm”, originally had a parapet walk around it. The importance of the towers, which they were supposed to take on as a protective and shielding function in a retreat position, remained in effect until the 14th century after the last extension of the ring wall was completed. Just like these two towers, the half tower, now known as the “Helenenturm”, is said to have been part of the monastery wall in the further course of the western city wall (at the corner of Helenenstrasse and St. Apern Strasse).

Along this wall to the southwest (to the old Ehrenpforte and to St. Aposteln ) ran in a slight curve, above the Poor Clare Monastery, St. Apern Street (platea s. Apri, also Afre, Apro, Aprum), on 1169 for the first time one of the holy ones Aper consecrated chapel was called.

The old moat (Zeughausstraße) flanking the Roman wall and the north side (field side) ended at the Löwenpforte (Lewenporzen). One of the city's old stone paths (Lapida) began here at the provisional end of the moat, the later Steinefelder Gasse leading northwards, and the Friesenstraße (1165 “platea Friesorum”, also “area inter Frisones” or “area in platea”) leading further west Frisonica ") called. In later times the chapel of St. Norbert and Hermann Joseph was located at this fork in the road; it may have been a building by the Premonstratensians .

The Holy Cross Chapel was mentioned in 1344 below the monastery wall of the Clarenkonventes and the street “Off dem beer lich” (“Lich Hof” was also called cemeteries) . It was one of the two (also the St. Vincent Chapel, one said "upper" and "lower" chapel) small hall churches on the second (next to the church of St. Gregorius im Elend ) "Elendigen Kirchhof" of the city (cimiterio exulum) . It was owned by the von Lyskirchen family from Cologne . Since it had become dilapidated, Constantin von Lyskirchen had it redeveloped at the urging of the council, probably in 1612 (later the site of the granary, later the anatomy).

  • View from Friesenstrasse to St. Apern Strasse. The wall ends under the trees towards the cathedral at Berlich

  • Roman tower east side

  • Remaining tower at the corner of Helenen and St. Apern Strasse

  • Preserved Roman wall shortly before the "Berlich"

Larger possessions

Over time, the convent had extensive possessions in Cologne and the surrounding area. There were properties in Bornheim, Roisdorf, Fliesteden , Frechen , Glessen , Hasselsweiler , Holtorf , Oberaußem , Reidt , Stommeln , Weiden and a farm on Cologne's Bayenstrasse. It can only be verified in individual cases whether this property was acquired through foundations, deceased or purchased.

Secularization and repeal

In 1796 the Paris directorate issued new administrative regulations for the areas on the left bank of the Rhine conquered in 1794 . In this it was also determined that all income of the churches, like the previously customary from leasing and interest income through loaned capital, should flow as national income to the domain administration of the state. The clergy should be compensated by pension payments according to a list of persons to be specified. The hoped-for major reduction in the number of members of the convents did not take place for the time being, so that in 1797 the clergy were reinstated in their previous possession. However, this decision was repealed a year later. In view of the fact that the Convent of the Poor Clares maintained three refectories in its medieval heyday , there must have been a steady decline in new additions in modern times . The official lists of names of ecclesiastical and secular convent members compiled for the years 1797 and 1801 prove the decline in membership in this Cologne monastery. In 1797 there were 21 sisters for St. Clare, 18 nuns and 3 lay sisters, in 1801 there were 19 sisters, of which 17 were nuns and 2 lay sisters.

Monasteries and monasteries, which were now formally owned again, had to pay taxes and contributions like the rest of the population . Since the income from previous property (rent, pensions, etc.) often did not materialize during this time of social upheaval, many monasteries and monasteries were forced to secure their livelihood by selling parts of their property due to a lack of other income.

The administration of the areas on the left bank of the Rhine had already ordered in 1798 that monasteries and monasteries had to make inventories of their properties. In the directory of St. Klara there was also a reference to various sales of real estate, including (see upper article section) a farm (probably the "Clarenhof", Roisdorf) in Bornheim.

Through the concordat between Napoleon Bonaparte and Pope Pius VII of July 15, 1801, in which the Pope assured that he would not lay claim to church property, the secularization could be carried out according to the resolution of June 9, 1802. The monastery was closed in the course of these events on August 21, 1802 (3rd Fructidor X) and transferred to the French domain administration. After the secularization resolution was published on September 22, 1802, the remaining nuns had 10 days to leave the monastery. They had to move to the right bank of the Rhine with travel money of 150 francs and their movable property.

A little later, in 1804, the Church of St. Clara was closed. In 1808 the estate of the former monastery went to the Krefeld businessman H. Riedel for a purchase price of 24,000 Kaufschillinge (Francs) . Until his insolvency in 1809, he initially ran a silk and velvet manufacture on part of the site . A tobacco factory then temporarily moved in , before the area was initially used for residential purposes after being sold again in 1819. Later, parts of the former farm buildings were used, for example, by wagon builders and, since 1858, by the manufacturer Johann Pellenz as the nucleus of his factory, which was later located in Ehrenfeld. In 1810 more buildings were laid down, but larger parts of the monastery buildings were still standing until 1869. The so-called Parfusenturm at the north-east corner of the property only fell when the street Auf dem Berlich was built in 1840/41. The congregation of the collegiate church of St. Maria im Kapitol, which has now become a parish church, received some usable steps (18 pieces) that remained on the site . In the course of the parceling out of the monastery grounds in 1840, two new streets were laid to develop it, the “Helenenstraße” and “Am Römerturm”. A core building of the monastery complex, located above the cellar of the Parfusenhof, still stands in major parts today: Am Römerturm 3 .

The monastery of St. Klara, whose leading nuns came from the nobility , high nobility and the Cologne patriciate , was one of the most renowned women's convents in the city. However, after its abolition and the demolition of the church, it was soon forgotten. Its importance in the city's history lies in the preserved pieces of its precious former furnishings, which were recognized in time by men like Sulpiz Boisserée and Ferdinand Franz Wallraf and brought to safety. It is works of art scattered across many museums that arouse great art historical interest today.

Received (selection)

The Poor Clare Monastery was an exceptional refuge for Cologne painting and other works of art from the 14th to 15th centuries.

  • Around 1320–30: Graduals d. 1. Abbess Petronella von Scherve. 13 single images from various locations, Wintersbach Missal (Darmstadt HLHB: Hs 876)
  • Around 1330–40: Devotional and prayer book (Hanover, Kestner Museum: Inv. WM ü 22), house inventory Gaffel Windeck (Cologne, city archive: Guild A 75), Gertrudis Graduale (Cologne, WRM: M 67-71): Clerk Gertrud van dem Vorst
  • T. 1: around 1340/50; T. 2: 1st quarter of the 16th century: MS-C-60 - Breviary. Cologne ( digitized version) ULB Düsseldorf
  • Around 1340–50: Loppa vom Spiegel, and
  • Shortly before 1360: Loppa successors (Cologne, WRM: 4 single images)
  • Around 1350/60. The clear altar erected today in Cologne Cathedral , a winged altar of the Cologne Franciscan Church

literature

  • Christoph Bellot: Poor Clare Monastery of St. Klara. In: Colonia Romanica. 10, 1, 1995, ISSN  0930-8555 , pp. 206-240.
  • Paul Clemen (Hrsg.): The art monuments of the Rhine province. Volume 6, 7: The art monuments of the city of Cologne. Volume 7, section 3, supplementary volume = volume 2, section 3, supplementary volume: Ludwig Arntz , Heinrich Neu, Hans Vogts: The former churches, monasteries, hospitals and school buildings of the city of Cologne. Schwann, Düsseldorf 1937 (reprint: ibid 1980, ISBN 3-590-32107-5 ).
  • Joachim Deeters: The way to the end. Measures against monasteries and monasteries before secularization 1795–1801. In: Georg Mölich, Joachim Oepen, Wolfgang Rosen (ed.): Monastery culture and secularization in the Rhineland. Klartext-Verlag, Essen 2002, ISBN 3-89861-099-3 , pp. 257-284.
  • Hermann Keussen : Topography of the city of Cologne in the Middle Ages. 2 volumes. Hanstein, Bonn 1910 ( Prize publications of the Mevissen Foundation 2), (Reprint: Droste, Düsseldorf 1986, ISBN 3-7700-7560-9 (Vol. 1), ISBN 3-7700-7561-7 (Vol. 2) ).
  • Götz J. Pfeiffer: The glass painting ensemble from the Oppenheim collection. A donation from Archbishop Walram von Jülich to the St. Clara Monastery in Cologne, in: Yearbook of the Berlin Museums, Vol. NF 50, 2008, pp. 25–34.
  • Werner Schäfke (Ed.): Am Römerturm. Two millennia of a Cologne district. (= Publications of the Cologne City Museum , Volume 7.) Cologne 2006, ISBN 3-927396-99-0 .
  • Dieter Siebert-Gasper: The Rennenberg Codex. Codex 149 of the Cologne Cathedral Library and the noblemen of Rennenberg in the Cologne Cathedral Chapter of the 14th century. Archbishop's Diocesan and Cathedral Library, Cologne 2008, ISBN 978-3-939160-15-1 ( Libelli Rhenani 23).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h Ludwig Arentz, H. Neu and Hans Vogts, in: Paul Clemen (Ed.): Die Kunstdenkmäler der Stadt Köln , Volume II, p. 278ff.
  2. ↑ Herman Keussen, Vol. II., P. 233, with reference to: Merlo, Koll.n. 174
  3. ↑ HASTK St. Klara Urk. 2, here based on Siebert-Gasper, the Rennenberg Codex, page 83
  4. ↑ HAStK St. Klara Urk. 44, here based on Siebert-Gasper, the Rennenberg Codex, page 87
  5. ↑ Payments of the Bonn chapter to the clerus secundarius and tertiarius in 1757. Exchange agreement with the monastery S. Klara in Cologne regarding ownership in Roisdorf 1759. In: Old signature: Kurköln II No. 1752 archive.nrw.de
  6. ^ Siebert-Gasper, Der Rennenberg Codex, pp. 92-10
  7. ^ Information on the triptych: WRM, Cologne
  8. ↑ Christoph Bellot: St. Klara, pp. 206-240.
  9. ↑ Herman Keussen, Vol. II., P. 235, Col. 1
  10. ↑ Herman Keussen, Vol. II., P. 234, Col. 1
  11. ^ Arentz: Cistercian convent St. Apern, p. 317
  12. ↑ Herman Keussen, Vol. II., P. 244, Col. 1
  13. ↑ Arentz: Heiligkreuzkapelle, p. 338
  14. ↑ Bellot, page 230, with reference to: HAStK Französische Verwaltung no.1613, no.1609, no.1615
  15. ↑ Joachim Deeters: Monastery culture and secularization in the Rhineland, s. 257 f
  16. ↑ Bellot, p. 230
  17. ↑ Ralf Gier: St. Claren - A fruit estate in the middle of the city. In: Werner Schäfke (Ed.): Am Römerturm. Two millennia of a Cologne district. (= Publications of the Cologne City Museum , Volume 7.) Cologne 2006, ISBN 3-927396-99-0 , p. 137.
  18. ↑ Ralf Gier: St. Claren - A fruit estate in the middle of the city. In: Werner Schäfke (Ed.): Am Römerturm. Two millennia of a Cologne district. (= Publications of the Cologne City Museum , Volume 7.) Cologne 2006, ISBN 3-927396-99-0 , pp. 162f, 190f u. a.

Coordinates: 50 ° 56 ′ 26.6 ″  N , 6 ° 56 ′ 48 ″  E