Cronschwitz Monastery
The Cronschwitz monastery is a former Dominican convent in Cronschwitz , a district of Wünschendorf / Elster in the district of Greiz . As a pure noble pen the monastery was up to the Reformation the richest in Vogtland . From the former monastery buildings only remains of the wall still exist.
history
founding
The monastery was founded in 1238. The founder and first prioress was a Jutta from the family of the Lords of Straßberg . Her husband, Heinrich IV. (Around 1182–1249) was already Reichsministeriale Vogt and lord of Plauen and Gera when he entered the Teutonic Order in 1237 - probably at the request of the Landgraves of Thuringia . As early as 1241–1244 he was promoted to landmaster in the newly emerging state of Prussia . However, his entry into the knightly order had made the divorce of the ruling couple necessary. The acquittal of the marriage vows was made in a solemn ceremony in the Mildenfurth monastery church by Bishop Engelhard von Naumburg . The Cronschwitz monastery was founded for Jutta's maintenance, and she became its first prioress in 1251. Heinrich fell seriously ill on a trip to Mergentheim , an administrative seat of the Teutonic Order in Swabia. After his death, he was buried in the Cronschwitz Monastery, which made the monastery a burial place and house monastery for this Vogtland noble line (also known as Heinrichinger ) and also served as accommodation for the unmarried daughters of the bailiffs and the Vogtland nobility.
wedding
The nunnery was initially intended for the newly established order of the Magdalen Sisters. The rules of St. Augustine and the customs of the former Sixtus monastery of the Dominican Sisters in Rome were adopted . The Dominican Order was responsible for the supervision and representation, so it is often viewed as a Dominican convent. The secular concerns - management, contract law and financial transactions - were reserved for a Vogt from the Teutonic Order, probably a wish of the monastery founder Heinrich. However, this special regulation was out of order by the middle of the 13th century. In 1246 the monastery received a letter of protection from Pope Innocent IV.
According to the aim of the founder of the Magdalenian order, the nuns, called white women because of their costume, were representatives of a mendicant order . Due to the special regulations of the monastery, the worldly possessions and assets that were given to the noble widows and daughters when they entered the monastery were mostly transferred to the monastery property. Thanks to other foundations and bequests, the nunnery soon had a large number of possessions and rights. The cloister courtyard of Cronschwitz was the central farm yard of the monastery and had additional works in the surrounding villages, only the later manor in Meilitz was of greater importance . The outworks at Straßberg , Wolfsgefärth and vineyards near Lobeda were owned by the monastery, as were forests near Syrau , Greiz and Schneckengrün . The monastery also received income from the incorporation of parishes in Schmölln , Nöbdenitz , Ronneburg (Thuringia) , Paitzdorf and Teichwitz .
Precious chalices and ceremonial vessels as well as books and manuscripts passed into the possession of the monastery. The abbess of the Quedlinburg monastery even sent an (alleged) part of the skull of St. George as a relic to the monastery, which then became part of the monastery treasure. Protection of these valuables could not be guaranteed in the unfortified monastery buildings. The Reussians therefore offered in 1525 to bring the valuable monastery treasure to Gera under military protection . The princely Russian administrator did not hand over the monastery treasure to the monastery administrator in Cronschwitz until 1535 under pressure from the elector of Saxony , but the latter took advantage of the unique opportunity and stole the treasure, his further fate is unknown.
Reformation time and closure
With the Reformation, the monastery lost its importance and economic competence. From 1542 to 1544, Martin Luther's brother-in-law Hans von Bora was the administrator of the monastery in Cronschwitz. The first Protestant preacher was Laurentius Faber. Individual nuns got married, others simply took off their religious habit. The remaining nuns received residence rights until their death.
The monastery complex and the farm fell into disrepair, and the necessary repairs were not carried out. In 1544, Matthes von Wallenrod , who was in the ducal-Saxon service, bought his property - he was previously a bailiff in Sonneberg and later the castle captain of the Veste Coburg . He also managed the secularized Georgenberg Monastery , the Mildenfurth Monastery and other properties and farms. In a list of the monastery buildings made in 1544, the following were mentioned: the Propsteigebuilding (as the main building of the monastery), the ruins of the monastery church St. Marien, the dining house of the monastery (renovated in 1504), the stable buildings and barns, a bakery and a kitchen house.
After the agricultural business was in bloom again, Elector Johann Georg I of Saxony acquired the greater part of the property and arranged for it to be used as a chamber property , it existed, last handed over to tenants, until 1945.
Excavations
In 1905 the Princely House of Reuss financed the excavations that Berthold Schmidt had begun in the Cronschwitz monastery grounds. An attempt was made to determine the location and extent of the largely demolished monastery complex through the foundations of the main building in the ground. In 1939 excavations were carried out again with other objectives in Cronschwitz, and some gravestones of the founding family were also found.
The current rectory of the parish of Wünschendorf is a visible testimony to the time of the monastery. It is a late Gothic stone house, the solid construction is a listed building. The Zum Klosterhof restaurant in the center of Cronschwitz is also a reminder of the monastery era. Right next to the remains of the wall of the former nave, which is now privately owned, there is the refectory, the basement of which is ascribed to the 13th century, as well as a coach house built much later in the half-timbered style. The ongoing excavations and securing work on the nave and cloister are exclusively financed privately.
literature
- Georg Voss (ed.): Building and art monuments of Thuringia. Grand Duchy of Saxony-Weimar-Eisenach. Weida District Court. Book XXV. Gustav Fischer Verlag, Jena 1897. pp. 14-17. ( Digitized version )
- The northern Vogtland around Greiz . A geographical inventory in the area of Greiz, Weida, Berga, Triebes, Hohenleuben, Elsterberg, Mylau and Netzschkau. In: Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography (Ed.): Landscapes in Germany . tape 68 . Böhlau Verlag, Leipzig 2006, ISBN 3-412-09003-4 , Mildenfurth, Veitsberg, Cronschwitz, from 1945 to Wünschendorf, and Vorwerk Deschwitz, from 1925 to Weida Wald, p. 100-101, 437 .
- Helmut Thurm: The Dominican nunnery at Cronschwitz near Weida. Publishing house by Gustav Fischer, Jena 1942.
- Document book of the bailiffs of Weida, Gera and Plauen as well as their house monasteries Mildenfurth, Cronschwitz, Weida and the Holy Cross near Saalburg (Part I) . In: B. Schmidt (ed.): Thuringian historical sources . tape 5 . Jena 1885.
- Document book of the bailiffs of Weida, Gera and Plauen as well as their house monasteries Mildenfurth, Cronschwitz, Weida and the Holy Cross near Saalburg (Part II) . In: B. Schmidt (ed.): Thuringian historical sources . tape 5 . Jena 1892.
Web links
Coordinates: 50 ° 47 '25.6 " N , 12 ° 5' 51.8" E