Bürgel Monastery
The Bürgel Monastery is a former Benedictine abbey in the Thalbürgel district of the city of Bürgel (Thuringia) in the Saale-Holzland district in Thuringia . The Romanesque church of St. Maria and St. Georg (often referred to as the Thalbürgel monastery church ), which is still preserved today, is one of the most important sacred monuments in Thuringia and contains the remains of the only Benedictine relay choir in Germany. The church bike path Jena - Thalbürgel leads to the monastery .
Location and current use
The remains of the Bürgel monastery are located in the midst of several ponds in today's village of Thalbürgel about 13 km east of Jena on a hill above the tracks opposite the Georgenberg .
The former interest store and the Romanesque abbey church have been preserved and restored . The entire original extent of the complex can still be imagined today based on the stables and barns in the area (the former farm buildings of the monastery). Today there is a museum in the interest store.
Since its extensive repairs in the years 1964 to 1972, the church has not only provided space for the services of the Protestant parish, it has also received attention again on one of the most beautiful Romanesque buildings in Thuringia and is also the location of changing art exhibitions and, with its excellent acoustics, a concert hall for the Thalbürgeler Concert summer .
history
founding
Already in the early Middle Ages there was a fortification on the Georgenberg at the intersection of two long-distance trade routes and their ford over the tracks , which was probably dedicated to St. George . From the middle of the 16th century the current place name developed from their name Burgelin .
On February 13, 1133, the Lusatian margrave Heinrich von Groitzsch and his wife Bertha were allowed to set up a congregatio monachorum (monastic community) on the Burgeliner hereditary farm by Bishop Udo I of Thuringia , who during his tenure favored the founding of 58 monasteries . According to Wolfgang Hartmann, Bertha was a daughter of Dietmar, Count von Selbold-Gelnhausen , from the noble family of Reginbodonen . She was related to Paulina, the matroness of the Paulinzella monastery . In 1114, as a result of the Cluniac reform movement , Paulina succeeded in building this papal monastery with the legal independence of the convent under direct imperial protection. The deed of foundation of Paulinzella was adopted almost literally for the new community and on May 15, 1136 by Emperor Lothar III. signed. The basilica and the Bürgel monastery were also built by monks from Paulinzella and Hirsau. The equality of rank with Paulinzella was of great importance to the monks of Bürgel for a long time.
10 years after the foundation of the Bürgel monastery, a subsidiary monastery was founded north of Glauchau in 1143 . It was intended to serve the brothers of the Bürgel monastery. A donation of 100 Königshufen Land to the right and left of the Zwickauer Mulde should serve to strengthen the economy. Due to the great distance from Bürgel, a Benedictine monastery was founded, which was named Remse from 1216 . However, there is no certificate of incorporation. It is certain that the Remse monastery was built on Bürgler property and was always a subsidiary of Bürgel. It had no legal independence, but economic one. The provost of Remse was always appointed by the Bürgel abbot . The monastery was economically weak. The abbey was joined to the Bursfeld congregation in 1510, before the last Benedictine abbot von Bürgel left his monastery as a result of the Peasants' War and went to Remse in order to receive support from there. In 1533 the Remse monastery was also dissolved. The monastery property took over the rule of Schönburg and the abbey church fell into disrepair. Today one can only guess at the monastery complex.
Medieval monasteries have been committed to the agricultural development of their surrounding area from the very beginning. In the beginning, the Bürgel monastery did not have much agricultural property. But over the course of two centuries it became an important economic factor in feudal society between Saale and Elster. It cleverly increased its property. Entire villages even became property. These included u. a .: Remderoda (1308), Wallichen near Erfurt (1318), Bobeck (1325), Münchenroda (1330), Altlöbnitz (1352), Stiebritz (1358), Ziegenhain (1435), Gerega (1451). Farmsteads and / or large parcels of land were bought in another 20 villages, including the eight villages in the compartment to the northeast of Bürgel . Land was also acquired in Erfurt. The monastery owned vineyards in the Saale and Gleistal valleys. The abbots played a major role in this development. Particularly highlighted are: Johannes von Kothewitz (1355–1368), Heinrich von Kaufungen (1408–1433) and Eberhardt Wölfer (1434–1469). Eight of these villages were inhabited by Slavs.
The Eastern Part (1142–1150)
Beyond the transept, five chapels of increasing size expanded the cruciform Thalbürgel basilica into a staggered choir . The five chapels of the relay choir (actually we should speak of a staggered sanctuary ) were used to celebrate the Holy Mass . Since only one mass was allowed to be read a day at the same altar , the acoustically relatively isolated rooms offered five priest monks the opportunity to attend private masses at the same time , which had become very important in the 12th century. This also shows that in terms of numbers, a large number of priest monks must have lived in Bürgel in relation to the lay brothers .
Seasonal sanctuaries of the Thalbürgeler type can only be found at the time of its construction in the Central German Cistercian churches such as Schulpforta or Georgenthal . The model was primarily Cluny , but the direct source of inspiration for the master builder from Thalbürgel was the Paulinzella complex. Today only the foundations are visible.
The nave with its articulated pillars and arches, its flat ceiling and the remains of a rood screen is 30 m long and the relatively large windows in the upper storeys give the room a festive dignity and austerity. This monastic church was supposed to symbolize the New Jerusalem .
The west section and the towers (1150–1180)
After Margrave Heinrich died on December 31, 1135, Bertha (also called Berchta) secured the material existence of the " seven Closter maidens" in the form of hereditary goods, and in 1322 it is still proven that the bailiffs of Gera gave hereditary interest to the " vrouwen von Burgelin “Have transferred. Bertha probably wanted to spend her old age here as a kind of canoness . The construction of residential accommodation counted as a means of livelihood security for the women, and a special room for worship was also created. The foundations in Thalbürgel therefore included a western antechamber with a nuns' choir , of which remains have been preserved. According to the Lausnitzer monastery chronicle, Bertha is buried in the eastern section.
The large west portal at the eastern end of the central nave of the antechamber contributes to the fame of the Thalbürgel monastery church. Undoubtedly, when building the portal with its four differently shaped arches, an image of the sky and the cosmos should be presented. Here, too, the master von Bürgel Paulinzella served as an architectural model with his portal from 1124. Overall, only slightly changed, the basic dimensions remained unchanged at 4 m deep and 9 m high.
This is the first time that an opportunity for baptism has been integrated into a monastery church . The baptismal font that is now in the nave was probably originally in the area of the antechamber and served the Sorbs mission .
The west building and front church were built no later than 1160. With the completion of the two east towers in 1174, the building of the church was completed, and the nave was finally completed by 1180 at the latest.
Until the Reformation
During the late Middle Ages , the mighty double tower front of the monastery church (only the south tower remained) marked the position of the convent as a dominant symbol of the landscape and showed who embodied the power in this territory. The city council of Bürgel had to take the oath of homage to the abbot of the monastery. The secular affairs of the citizens of Bürgel were settled in the cloister , it was, so to speak, the seat of government or the “king's hall” of the monastery. At that time the monastery had its own tailors and hunters , a kitchen master , a sang master , a custodian and a winery of considerable capacity. A crucifix from the successor of Tilman Riemenschneider , which was restored in the 1980s, has survived from the late period of the monastery . Also preserved in the original version is a Pietà , which was probably created around 1480 in an Erfurt carving workshop. As a result of the Reformation in Thuringia, the monastery was dissolved in 1526 and thus left to decay. The monastic property was taken over by the elector and he set up a chamber property. The rights went to the current office of Bürgel with its seat in the monastery. The office included: City of Bürgel with the locations Gniebsdorf , Nausnitz , Taupadel , Kleinlöbichau , Gerega , Waldeck , Bobeck , Beulbar , Ilmsdorf , Hetzdorf and Wogau . The new official seat was a prerequisite for the formation of the Thalbürgel village. The former Wasserburg Kalthausen is only surrounded by a castle hill with a circular moat, because after the founding of the monastery it was converted into a farmyard and Vorwerk. After the Reformation, the Freihof Gniebsdorf became the farmyard of the Thalbürgel estate and the Vorwerk Kalthausen fell into disrepair.
From the Reformation to today
The walls of the monastery, made of large sandstone blocks, served as a welcome quarry for the new buildings in the village of Thalbürgel and the surrounding area. It was only when Philipp Melanchthon came to Thuringia on his visitations that he exercised his influence to make the remains of the monastery church usable again for the village community as a Protestant place of worship and thus to preserve it. After the side aisles were demolished, the nave arcades were bricked up in 1562 and galleries were built into the central nave, which had become a hall. In 1817 the last two pillars of the west portal were removed to equip the Weimar Palace Park.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe finally recognized the importance of the monastery church and the adjacent facilities and arranged for them to be secured and partially reconstructed. The first restoration work began in the 1840s. Texts and pictures by Ludwig Puttrich promoted the conversion of the church building in Thalbürgel - next to the Wartburg near Eisenach and the monastery ruins of Paulinzella - to a patriotic monument . Its restoration is an important achievement of early German monument preservation . The north and south aisles were rebuilt, the intermediate ceilings later installed in the central nave were removed and the walled arcades of the central nave were reopened. The corner columns and the bases of the arcades were added. The triumphal arch of the nave was separated from the choir, which was only preserved in remains, and provided with a group window.
From 1964 to 1972 the church was brought into its current state as part of a Romanesque basilica and in 1982 the church received a small organ . Two capitals were installed as spoils from the Bürgel monastery in Weimar in the Park an der Ilm at the lion fighter portal, the design of which came from the building director Clemens Wenzeslaus Coudray . The remains of the fragmentarily preserved rood screen were preserved and partially reconstructed, the foundations of the choir were made visible again by means of masonry and the vestibule with the portal that was preserved in remains were exposed again.
Today, in addition to church services, the concerts of the Thalbürgel concert summer and changing art exhibitions take place in the church .
literature
- Friedrich Möbius: Thalbürgel monastery church. Schnell & Steiner publishing house, Regensburg 1996.
- Wolfgang Hartmann: From the Main to Trifels Castle - from Hirsau Monastery to Naumburg Cathedral. On the traces of the Franconian noble family of the Reginbodonen in the Middle Ages. Publications of the history and art association Aschaffenburg e. V. Vol 52. Aschaffenburg 2004, ISBN 3-87965-098-5 .
- Paul Mitzschke : Document book of the city and monastery Bürgel, Gotha 1895
Web links
- Website of the parish office Bürgel on the monastery church with video
- Website of the museum Zinsspeicher Thalbürgel
Individual evidence
- ^ Herbert von Hintzenstern : Monastery complexes in Thuringia built as if for eternity. Cultural evidence from ancient times. Verlagshaus Thuringia, 1996, ISBN 3-89683-104-6 , p. 35.
- ↑ Wolfram / Drafehn: The monastery church in Thalbürgel . Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, 1995, pp. 18-20, license 420250-237-85.
- ↑ Wolfram / Drafehn: The monastery church in Thalbürgel. Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, Berlin 1985, pp. 20-22, license 420.250-237-85.
- ↑ Werner Mägdefrau : Thuringian cities and city leagues in the Middle Ages ... . Verlag Rockstuhl, Bad Langensalza 2002, ISBN 3-936030-34-0 , p. 42.
- ↑ Wolfram / Drafehn : The monastery church in Thalbürgel . Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, Berlin 1985 p. 29, license 420.250-237-85.
- ↑ OV Archaeological Hiking Guide Thuringia Issue 9 - Saale-Holzland-Kreis Ost . Weimar 2007, ISBN 978-3-937517-51-3 , p. 46.
- ↑ Hans Schoder: The restoration of the former Thalbürgel monastery church. In: Monuments in Thuringia. 2nd Edition. Hermann Böhlaus successor, Weimar 1974, pp. 219–241.
Coordinates: 50 ° 56 ′ 6.1 ″ N , 11 ° 45 ′ 0 ″ E