Fischingen Monastery

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Fischingen Monastery
Interior of the monastery church
Altar and sarcophagus of Saint Idda of Toggenburg in the chapel of the same name in Fischingen monastery
The chapel of St. Idda von Toggenburg, which was added to the monastery church in 1705.
Entrance to Fischingen Monastery with coat of arms

The Fischingen Benedictine monastery was founded in 1138 by Bishop Ulrich II of Constance as an episcopal own monastery. It is located on the upper reaches of the Murg in the canton of Thurgau in the municipality of Fischingen in Switzerland . The monastery was intended to provide shelter and refuge for pilgrims on their way from Constance to Einsiedeln . Six Benedictines live in Fischingen Abbey (as of 2017).

history

The monastery was founded shortly before 1138 by Bishop Ulrich II of Constance and was settled by monks from the Petershausen Monastery in Constance. From the beginning, Fischingen was planned as a double monastery, i.e. a monastery for monks and nuns. The hermit Gebino was ordained the first abbot of Fischingen in 1138 . In a construction period of only six years, he had a bell tower, a house each for monks and sisters, and a hostel built. At the time of its heyday around 1210, the abbey had around 150 monks and 120 nuns. The counts of Toggenburg exercised the bailiwick over the monastery . Saint Idda von Toggenburg , who lived in a hermitage near the monastery around 1200 , is buried in a chapel next to the monastery church. During the Reformation , the monastery went out for several years, as the abbot and the four remaining monks converted to the Reformed faith in 1526. In 1526 the abbot Heinrich Stoll from Zurich married publicly in the monastery church. The other brothers also married, but continued to live with him in the monastery and were active in pastoral care. However, the Benedictine abbey was rebuilt on the initiative of the Catholic communities of the Confederation . Abbot Heinrich Stoll was deposed by the Swiss Diet in 1532 and had to leave the monastery. (Since 1460 the monastery belonged to the common rule Thurgau in the Swiss Confederation ). The administration was provisionally taken over by one of the monks, Andreas Egli. He was assisted by two sent priests. On July 22, 1540, Markus Schenkli was appointed as the new abbot of the monastery by the seven places of Catholic faith.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, the monastery complex was rebuilt in the Baroque and Rococo styles. A new abbey church was built from 1685 to 1687, and in 1705 a chapel dedicated to St. Idda. From 1753 to 1761 part of the convent building was rebuilt according to plans by Johann Michael Beer von Bildstein . The client was Abbot Nikolaus Degen from the Schwyzer Lachen . Again and again there were disputes and tensions between the architect and the abbot, which were even dealt with before the Diet in Frauenfeld. The abbot criticized the poor workmanship, the architect the interruption in construction due to financial problems. The architect wanted to continue building and threatened to bring an action for compensation. The disputes dragged on until 1775. In 1775, at the Diet in Frauenfeld, a comparison was made between the abbot and the architect. Michael Beer waived the completion of the building and other claims in exchange for a severance payment. He was also busy expanding the St. Gallen collegiate church. The planned west wing was never started. In 1776 the abbot resigned and retired to Lommis Castle, where he died in 1778. On November 4, 1761, the monks moved into their newly built accommodations.

However, due to the high debts that arose from these renovations and new buildings, the renovation could not be fully completed. The then already famous Johann Jakob Zeiller from Reutte / Tyrol was consulted for the ceiling and wall frescoes (signed) in the Psallier choir from 1761 . The choir ceiling fresco painted around 1785/90 (wrongly attributed to JA Messmer!) With the four medallion images in the stitch caps was made by Joseph Keller from Pfronten / Allgäu , who was often employed in Switzerland at the time . The organ with 33 registers comes from Johann Georg Aichgasser .

In the Baroque period, the monastery was dominated by priest monks, i.e. monks who were ordained priests, also known as fathers. Between 1650 and 1780 a total of 134 monks lived in the monastery. 97 of them were priests. A number of 35 monks was never reached during the entire period. In 1725 34 monks lived in the monastery. The number of monks who were not ordained priests was always very small. In 1750, for example, there were only four. Most of the monks came from the Old Confederation. Only 17 monks were not Swiss. Most of the monks came from the area of ​​the prince abbey of St. Gallen, the common rule of Thurgau and from Catholic Central Switzerland (Uri, Schwyz, Lucerne and Zug). The foreigners came from Austria and Germany. Since Abbot Mathias Stähelin (1604–1616) a small school was run in the monastery. It served primarily to attract young talent. After a monastery law in 1836 forbade the acceptance of novices into the monastery, the school had to be closed in 1839. The last abbot of the monastery, Franziskus Fröhlicher (1836–1848) tried to save the school by converting it into a public high school, which was open to all interested young people, especially from Thurgau. The curriculum has been completely redesigned. The new grammar school received a lot of encouragement and recognition from the population and the Thurgau Education Council.

After the death of the last Benedictine abbot Franziskus Fröhlicher on June 27, 1848, the Fischingen monastery was abolished by the Thurgau Grand Council and passed to the Canton of Thurgau. The mediaeval library holdings were taken over by the Thurgau Cantonal Library . The monastery buildings were sold to the Winterthur textile manufacturer Friedrich Ludwig Imhof in 1852 . He had cotton fabrics and shoe uppers made in the monastery buildings. In 1875 the Thurgau government councilor August Wild bought the monastery complex and ran an international business school there. But the school was not very successful. In 1879 the Catholic men's association St. Iddazell under its chairman Jakob Bonifaz Klaus (1879-1892) acquired the monastery and opened the Catholic orphanage St. Iddazell, which was later run as an educational institution and children's home. In 1976 it was converted into a special school home. The club had big plans. So the west wing, planned by Abbot Nikolaus Deger, should still be built. But the financial means for expansion were lacking. Under Josef Schmid (1893-1919) the first sanitary facilities and electricity were installed in the monastery. Central heating was installed in the buildings under Albin Frei (1933–1943). From 1943 onwards, Benedictine fathers lived in Fischingen under the care of the St. Iddazell Association. The two priests came from the Benedictine Abbey of Engelberg and were entrusted with the management of the children's home.

After the so-called exceptional article in the Swiss Federal Constitution, which forbade the establishment of new and the restoration of abolished monasteries, was repealed in 1977, Fischingen Monastery was rebuilt as a Benedictine priory in the old buildings. Florin Cavelti was appointed first prior. He was followed as prior by Father Leo Müller from the Benedictine Abbey of Disentis . After his inauguration, the St. Iddazell Association began extensive renovation work as the owner of the building in 1997/1998.

In addition to the special school, the St. Iddazell Association now operates a seminar hotel with 29 double rooms and two multi-bed rooms with 12 and 20 beds in the walls. The monastery also operates a pilgrim hostel for the Swiss Way of St. James . The association also runs a monastery brewery and produces beer under the “Pilgrim” brand. Furthermore a joinery / carpentry belongs to the monastery.

Cases of abuse in the St. Iddazell children's home

The discovery of cases of abuse in church schools and homes also affects the St. Iddazell children's home. Witnesses report excesses of violence, waterboarding and sexual assault in the 1950s to the 1970s, while these incidents are partially denied by former teachers and students. The children's home was under the direction of Engelberger Fathers from autumn 1943 . The St. Iddazell Association initiated the investigation into the allegations. The report prepared by the BLG Counseling Center for Regional History was presented to the public on May 5, 2014. It was published in a revised form in 2015 by the Historical Association of the Canton of Thurgau. The allegations made are partially confirmed in this report. On October 9, 2019, the Tagblatt reported that a former child in a home is suing the canton of Thurgau for sexual assault and medical experiments for 1.4 million francs. The canton violated its duty of supervision. The lawsuit is filed by the former child, Walter Nowak, who was housed in the home in the 1960s and 1970s.

See also

literature

  • Jutta Betz: Fischingen Benedictine Abbey. Monastery church, Idda chapel and convent buildings . Art Publishing House Peda, Passau 2007, ISBN 978-3-89643-684-9 .
  • Office for the Preservation of Monuments of the Canton of Thurgau (Ed.): Fischingen Monastery. The restoration of the baroque prelature . Huber, Frauenfeld 2000, ISBN 3-7193-1224-0
  • Bruno Meyer: Fischingen as an episcopal monastery , in: Writings of the Association for the History of Lake Constance and its Surroundings , 92nd year 1974, pp. 47–94 ( digitized version )
  • Bruno Meyer: Consequences of the fable of the ancient origins of the Fischingen monastery , in: Writings of the Association for the History of Lake Constance and its Surroundings , 90th year 1972, pp. 19–50 ( digitized version )

Web links

Commons : Fischingen Monastery  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Birgit Schmid : As if heaven sent a sign . In: NZZ , August 18, 2017, p. 52.
  2. ^ Benno Schildknecht: Barockes Fischingen, Verein St. Iddazell, 1991, ISBN 3-9520157-0-9 , page 27
  3. ^ Benno Schildknecht: Barockes Fischingen, Verein St. Iddazell, 1991, ISBN 3-9520157-0-9 , page 28
  4. ↑ Jutta Betz: Fischingen Benedictine Abbey. Monastery church, Idda chapel and convent buildings . Kunstverlag Peda, Passau 2007, p. 35.
  5. ^ Office for Monument Preservation Thurgau: Fischingen Monastery The restoration of the baroque prelature, Huber & Co AG, Frauenfeld, 2000, ISBN 3-7193-1224-0 page 18, 36–37
  6. ↑ Jutta Betz: Fischingen Benedictine Abbey. Monastery church, Idda chapel and convent buildings . Kunstverlag Peda, Passau 2007, p. 18.
  7. ^ Benno Schildknecht: Barockes Fischingen, Verein St. Iddazell, 1991, ISBN 3-9520157-0-9 , page 45
  8. ^ Benno Schildknecht: Barockes Fischingen, Verein St. Iddazell, 1991, ISBN 3-9520157-0-9 , page 49
  9. ^ Office for Monument Preservation Thurgau: Fischingen Monastery The restoration of the baroque prelature, Huber & Co AG, Frauenfeld, 2000, ISBN 3-7193-1224-0 page 18, 38–39
  10. ↑ Discover a heavenly pleasure The gourmet beers from Fischingen Abbey
  11. ↑ Abuse or character assassination? (PDF; 517 kB) In: St. Galler Tagblatt , July 17, 2012; Retrieved October 23, 2012.
  12. ↑ History of the Fischingen Monastery. Retrieved November 10, 2017 .
  13. ↑ In the hands of the sadist . In: Tages-Anzeiger , June 26, 2012, updated July 18, 2012; Retrieved October 23, 2012.
  14. ↑ "In the monastery I learned to respond to violence with violence" . In: Tages-Anzeiger , July 18, 2012; Retrieved October 23, 2012.
  15. ↑ It was hell on earth . In: Tages-Anzeiger , October 23, 2012; Retrieved October 23, 2012.
  16. ^ Martina Akermann, Sabine Jenzer, Thomas Meier, Janine Vollenweider: Children in the monastery home. The institution St. Iddazell Fischingen 1879–1978 . Ed .: Historical Association of the Canton of Thurgau. tape 153 for 2015 (2). Publishing house of the Historical Association of the Canton of Thurgau, Frauenfeld 2015, ISBN 978-3-9524186-2-8 .
  17. ↑ Ida Sandl, Tagblatt drug tests in Münsterlingen and sexual abuse in the Fischingen monastery: Former home child sued the canton of Thurgau for 1.4 million

Coordinates: 47 ° 24 ′ 43 "  N , 8 ° 58 ′ 6"  E ; CH1903:  seven hundred and fifteen thousand four hundred forty  /  252360

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