Gravenhorst Monastery

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Gravenhorst Monastery

The Gravenhorst monastery is a former Cistercian abbey in the Hörsteler farming community of Gravenhorst in the Westphalian region of Tecklenburger Land ( Steinfurt district ). Besides Leeden and shell it was one of three monasteries that originated the Cistercian nuns in the 13th century in the Tecklenburg country.

history

The Mecklenburg knight Konrad von Brochterbeck founded the monastery in 1256 together with his wife Amalgarde von Budde and endowed it with land by donating an estate including a fish pond, forests and meadows. The first abbess was his only daughter Oda, who subsequently knew how to increase the monastery property and to ensure that her order was not officially recognized but nevertheless tolerated. In the following 50 years after it was founded, Gravenhorst was mainly able to acquire goods from the Counts of Tecklenburg and their ministerials . In terms of ownership, it is noticeable that many of the previous owners belonged to the immediate retinue of the counts. The main focus of monastic ownership was in the southwest of Tecklenburger Land.

But times were troubled. The nuns of the Gravenhorst Abbey not only had to defend themselves against attacks by secular masters, there were also constant disputes with the General Chapter of the Cistercians , who always disliked the great independence of the Gravenhorst women and their close contact with their secular environment. Nevertheless, the small community managed to maintain its independence by the beginning of the 19th century and assert its interests against all odds.

In 1764 the nuns founded a school for major daughters of both denominations and thus underpinned their position as a necessary institution for the well-being of the surrounding settlements. Some of the teaching materials from that time are still in the valuable Gravenhorst monastery library, which also contains several manuscripts from the 12th and 13th centuries.

After the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss 1803, the monastery was initially continued for five years under secular management, but then finally dissolved in 1808. In 1811 the last Cistercian women left the abbey.

Numerous changes of ownership and different uses of the monastery buildings followed. A mushroom cultivation was last housed there before the support association Kloster Gravenhorst eV bought the facility in 1986. At the end of the 1990s, the Steinfurt district took over the Gravenhorst monastery as the project sponsor with the right to lease and tried in the following years to find a new use for the building complex in need of renovation. A cultural usage concept was created within the framework of the structural funding program "Regionale 2004 left and right of the Ems" of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, which promised the necessary funds for the repair, so that the DA, Kunsthaus Kloster Gravenhorst could open its doors there in May 2004 . The Kunsthaus is dedicated to cultural education and organizes changing exhibitions, workshops, concerts and further education programs on art and history.

The Förderverein Kloster Gravenhorst eV , which celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2014, takes care of the former monastery mill as well as matters in the outdoor facilities of the monastery .

The buildings

The monastery complex was destroyed and rebuilt several times in the course of its existence, so that its exterior was often permanently changed. The shape of today's buildings dates back to the 18th century. Nevertheless, the Gravenhorst monastery has been almost completely preserved in its entirety and is therefore one of the few monastery complexes still in existence in northern Germany.

As early as 1317, the facility was damaged by a fire. This incident was followed by numerous other destructions. In the period from 1618 to 1623 alone, the monastery was attacked and looted 13 times during the Thirty Years' War .

In 1999, the first plans for the renovation and restoration of the buildings began, which took place from 2000 to 2004.

St. Bernhard monastery church

The Gothic monastery church was completed in 1300 and is the oldest surviving part of the monastery. Following the strict rules of the Cistercians, it is an unadorned church without a church tower. The bells hang in a simple roof turret . Inside the church is the high altar , which was made from Baumberg sandstone by the Rhine sculptor Heinrich Meiering in 1641 and is a foundation of the von Grotthuss family . The pulpit dates from around 1700.

  • Monastery church, exterior view

  • Interior of the monastery church

  • The high altar by Heinrich Meiering

  • West gallery with organ

main building

The two-wing main building connects to the south of the monastery church. Its west wing was rebuilt in 1817 after a fire using old components in the classical style. Remains of an old Gothic cloister are still preserved from its predecessor . The chapter house is the only room in the monastery that has been preserved in its original state.

The south wing of the main building probably dates from the 15th century. It has a two-winged portal with an outside staircase and a Gothic cellar vault. After being destroyed in the Thirty Years' War, it was extended to the east and equipped with a stepped gable in the Renaissance style.

The monastery mill

Outdoor facilities

To the south of the east wing is the brewing and baking house, the core of which dates back to the Middle Ages , but the outside also has architectural features of the 17th century. The mill belonging to the monastery has also been preserved, while only the foundations of the former blacksmith building remain.

In 1643 the nuns also bought the town house in Bevergern from an overindebted citizen , where they could seek refuge in dangerous situations via the so-called Nonnenpättken .

The monastery complex is surrounded by spacious gardens and forest areas, which are now a popular destination.

literature

  • Stephan Beermann: Place of the Stil (l) e. Kloster & Kunsthaus Gravenhorst 1256 - 2006 . Friends of the Gravenhorst Monastery, Hörstel 2004.
  • Rudolf Breuing: Former Cistercian convent Gravenhorst . In: Steinfurt district (ed.): On the way in the Steinfurt district . Steinfurt 1984, pp. 114-123, ISBN 3-926619-03-1 .
  • Reinhard Feldmann, Elke Pophanken et al .: The Gravenhorst Monastery Library . Catalog of the library of the former Cistercian convent Gravenhorst (= publications of the University and State Library of Münster . Volume 10.) University and State Library, Münster 1993, ISBN 3-9801781-4-5 .
  • Gabriele Maria Hock: The Westphalian Cistercian convents in the 13th century. Founding circumstances and early development . Dissertation at the University of Münster, Münster 1994, urn : nbn: de: hbz: 6-89649371873
  • Wolfgang Fischer: Gravenhorst. Building history of a Cistercian monastery (= writings of the Institute for Building and Art History of the University of Hanover . Volume 16). Institute for the history of architecture and art at the University of Hanover, Hanover 2002, ISBN 3-931585-12-3 .
  • Kunsthaus Kloster Gravenhorst: A History of the Gravenhorst Monastery . Steinfurt 2005.
  • Roland Pieper : Historical monasteries in Westphalia-Lippe. A travel guide . Ardey-Verlag, Münster 2003, ISBN 3-87023-244-7 , pp. 83-85.
  • Britta Tomaske, Andreas Wiese: Gravenhorst Monastery, Hörstel. Remodeling and renovation . Tecklenborg, Steinfurt 2005, ISBN 3-934427-87-1 .
  • Manfred Wolf: The documents of the Gravenhorst monastery (= publications of the historical commission for Westphalia . Volume 37; Westphalian documents . Volume 5.) Aschendorff, Münster 1994, ISBN 3-402-06837-0 .

Web links

Commons : Kloster Gravenhorst  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

References and comments

  1. ↑ GM Hock: The Westphalian Cistercian Convents in the 13th Century , 1994, pp. 214–216 Uni-Münster - The Gravenhorst Monastery ( Memento from November 9, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF 86 kB).
  2. ↑ In the late Middle Ages, Gravenhorst had a maximum of eight nuns; in the early modern period there were 10 to 14 nuns.

Coordinates: 52 ° 17 ′ 14 ″  N , 7 ° 37 ′ 27 ″  E