Beinwil Abbey

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View from the east

The monastery Beinwil is a former Benedictine abbey in Beinwil in the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland .

history

Beinwil Abbey, 1757/1758

It was probably founded around 1100 by the local nobility. However, there is no longer a certificate of incorporation. After disputes over territorial claims of the cities of Solothurn and Basel to the Counts of Thierstein , who acted as castellan of the monastery, the monastery was cremated in 1445. After Beinwil came to Solothurn in 1519, the people of Solothurn also took over a large part of the monastery property as pledge.

Only a few monks lived in the monastery during the 16th century , and the monastery was taken over by Einsiedeln monastery in 1589 and Rheinau monastery in 1622 . Since no new upswing in monastic life could be achieved in the seclusion of the valley, preparations were made to move the abbey to Mariastein monastery , which was completed in 1648. From Mariastein, the Beinwil Abbey was brought back to life at the end of the 17th century with a new baroque abbey church and convent building. The monastery was abolished by referendum during the Kulturkampf in 1874. Today, Beinwil Abbey serves as an ecumenical meeting place and also accepts guests. A small museum is housed in the attic of an outbuilding.

Today the convention belongs to a foundation that makes it available to a community “which lives in silence, meditation and prayer in accordance with the Gospel and works for the ecumenical understanding of all Christian denominations”. Five Orthodox men and women have been living in the former Catholic monastery since January 2019 .

Fire disaster

On August 4, 1978, shortly after 1 p.m., a fire was discovered in a room in the monastery building. The flames quickly spread to the church dedicated to Saint Vincent of Saragossa . Five ornate carved altars, the pulpit, many statues and the painted wooden ceiling burned. The tower, the external facades and the new tower clock had just been completed after ten years of renovation. In the monastery building, the roof and partly the first floor were destroyed. It was then extensively restored and equipped with a high altar made in Bellwald around 1700 .

Beinwil Abbey, Solothurn
Bell after the fire.

Abbots of Beinwil

  • Esso, around 1100
  • Werner, 1147
  • Heinrich I, before 1188
  • Gerungus, Geruncus, 1194-1207
  • Heinrich II., 1212-1236
  • Ulrich I, 1241?
  • Otto, 1246-1267
  • Ulrich II., 1278
    • St. John's Chapel, Beinwil Monastery, Solothurn
      St. John's Chapel
      (Peter Senftli / Senftelin, 1287 as "Conductor and Pleger")
  • Ulrich, 1293
  • Peter, 1298-1217
  • Heinrich III., 1324-1338
  • Meyngos / Menozus, 1346-1351
  • Jacob, 1370-1388
  • Konrad, 1402-1406
  • Johannes Walrami / Walraff von Thierstein, 1410–1414
  • Heinrich Rotacker, 1415-1431
  • Johannes von Oettingen, 1431–1443
  • Johannes Streng, 1443–1462
  • Grave slabs in front of the St. John's Chapel. Franz Xaveri Walter (April 20, 1792– February 17, 1861), professor, priest and governor in Beinwil.
    Grave slabs in front of the St. John's Chapel
    Johannes Molitor / Müller, 1462–1485
  • Rudolf von Saal, 1485 – around 1500
  • Johannes Kerckel / Körckel, 1503
  • Nikolaus Ziegler, 1503–1513
  • Ludwig Rapp, 1514–1527
  • Konrad Wescher, 1527–1554 / 55

Administrators from Beinwil

  • Jodok / Jost Strähler / Strähl, 1555–1565
  • Urs Häni (Galliculus), 1565–1567
  • Agidius Gilg, Bürgi, 1567–1573
  • Johann Schmid / Faber, 1573–1579
  • Urs Reinhard, 1579–1588
  • Johann Gruber, 1588–1589
  • Wolfgang Spieß, 1589–1614
  • Gregor Zehnder, 1614-1621
  • Maurus Hofmann, 1621-1622
  • Johann Frei, 1622
  • Urs Buri, 1622–1633

building

The monastery building stands on a hill spur that almost seals off the Lüsseltal when coming from the north. The monastery was built in stages and was often rebuilt and expanded, although no uniform architectural style could prevail.

The monastery was partially rebuilt after 1667 and relocated minimally. The »Spiesshaus« was built in 1594. The west wing is dated to 1628.

The contract (contract) for the new building was signed in 1667 with the bricklayer Jakob Tässig and the carpenter Sebastian Gubelmann. The foundation stone was laid in 1668. At the end of 1669 the new convent house could be moved into (east and west wings). The church and monastery were consecrated in 1670. The church with its five altars was placed under the patronage of Saint Vincent of Valencia . The monastery barn on the opposite side of the street, the old Passwangstrasse , was built in 1692. The church tower was only built in 1764, until then the bell was housed in a roof turret above the archway. The church tower was initially covered with a pointed helmet, but was given a helmet in its current form in 1842. The northern cloister garden was bordered by an open walkway that was demolished in 1884. The St. John's Chapel, northeast of the monastery next to the barn, was built in 1695.

  • High altar

  • Ceiling over the choir

  • gallery

  • View from the west

literature

  • Gottlieb Loertscher: The districts of Thal, Thierstein and Dorneck (= The art monuments of the Canton of Solothurn. Volume 3). Birkhäuser, Basel 1957, pp. 150–172.
  • Hans-Jörg Gilomen (Red.): The Cluniacens in Switzerland (= Helvetia Sacra . Dept. 3, Part 2). Helbing & Lichtenhahn, Basel / Frankfurt am Main 1991, ISBN 3-7190-1141-0 , pp. 384-421.
  • Ferdinand Eggenschwiler: History of the Beinwil Monastery from its foundation to 1648 . In: Yearbook for Solothurn History . tape 3 , 1930, p. 1–199 , doi : 10.5169 / seals-322463 .
  • Lukas Schenker: The Benedictine monastery Beinwil in the 12th and 13th centuries. Contributions to founding and early history . In: Yearbook for Solothurn History . tape 46 , 1973, p. 5–156 , doi : 10.5169 / seals-324500 .
  • P. Mauritius Fürst, OSB, Mariastein: The rebuilding of Beinwil Abbey and its relocation to Mariastein. (1622-1648), 1964, 262 pages. (Also in: Jahrbuch für Solothurnische Geschichte . Vol. 37, 1964, pp. 1–262. Doi: 10.5169 / seals-324289 )

Web links

Commons : Beinwil Abbey  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The alleged year of foundation 1085 is not certain, but is mentioned in the Annales Hirsaugiae of Johannes Trithemius of 1690. The same year is also found in Mercklein's appendix to the Chronikon Alsatiae (17th century) and in Acklin's book of professions (1723–1732)
  2. ↑ According to Gottlieb Loertscher ( The art monuments of the Canton of Solothurn : The districts of Thal, Thierstein and Dorneck), last elected abbot
  3. ↑ According to Gottlieb Loertscher ( The art monuments of the Canton of Solothurn : The districts of Thal, Thierstein and Dorneck), no longer elected
  4. ↑ The new buildings were built on the open spaces around the monastery, with partial overbuilding of demolished buildings

Coordinates: 47 ° 21 '44 "  N , 7 ° 35' 14"  E ; CH1903:  six hundred eleven thousand two hundred eighteen  /  245714