Harsefeld Monastery

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Foundations of the monastery

The monastery Harsefeld or monastery Rosenfeld (lat .: (Archi) abbatia Herzeveldensis vel Rosenfeldensis ) was a exemte Abbey of Benedictine in Harsefeld in the district of Stade ( Lower Saxony ).

It existed from 1104 to 1648, i.e. until the end of the Thirty Years War . After the Reformation, the monastery was one of the last bastions of Catholicism on the Lower Elbe.

Pen for secular priests to atone for a murder

The monastery emerged from a collegiate foundation for secular priests , which the Counts of Stade , the Udons , had donated between 1007 and 1010 to atone for a political murder . The sons of Count Luder-Udo (⚔ 994 in the Norman Battle), Udo and Heinrich von Katlenburg, were involved in the murder of Margrave Ekkehard von Meißen in the Palatinate Pöhlde on April 30, 1002. After the death of the young German king and Roman emperor Otto III. claimed the throne in the king's election of 1002 . The then elected king and later emperor Heinrich II spared Udo and Heinrich, but they had to hand over their inheritance from Harsefeld and the surrounding area to the church as a token of their penance. With the support of Count Heinrich II, called the Good (around 976 to 1016), the monastery for secular priests was founded in Harsefeld, which was subordinate to the patronage of the Mother of God and the Apostle Bartholomew . Archbishop Libentius I of Bremen (988 to 1013) consecrated the monastery, which existed for 99 years.

Early days of the Benedictine monastery

Oda von Werl (1050–1110), stepdaughter of Duke Otto von Northeim , married Count Udo II from Stade . She is considered the founder of the monastery, even if the founding is usually attributed to her husband and their sons. Oda wanted to convert the monastery into a monastery to prevent it from being appropriated by the Bremen archbishops. Around 1100 the first monks and their abbot Herrand came from the Ilsenburg monastery to Harsefeld, who probably brought with them a mixture of Gorzer and Cluniac customs (ordo Ilseneburgensis; 'Herrandreform'). The monastery received the Regula Benedicti and was also the patronage of the Blessed Mother and St. Subordinate to Bartholomew. It was withdrawn from the jurisdiction of the Bremen archbishops - apart from certain consecration functions - and placed directly under the Benedictine Pope Paschal II . Paschal II gave the monastery a constitution that guaranteed it extensive freedom and made possible subsequent prosperity. It thus received the right to freely elect abbots and bailiffs, and was thus largely exempted at this point. For the consecration of the monastery church in 1108 the Archbishop of Magdeburg traveled to Harsefeld. Most of the Ilsenburg Benedictines returned to the Harz Mountains after five years. The Harsefeld Abbey was later joined by mostly rural nobility from the Lower Elbe region. The monastery benefited from generous donations. The Benedictine abbey founded the daughter monastery of St. Marien in 1147 in front of Stade .

Between the Pope, Guelph and Archbishop

The archbishops of Bremen tried again and again to curtail the rights of the monastery. During the occidental schism , Pope Viktor IV , the antipope of Pope Alexander III , spoke . , the Bremen Archbishop Hartwig , who came from the family of the former bailiffs, the power of disposal over the monastery. Abbot Ado came into conflict with the archbishop and probably also with a part of the convent and left the monastery. The decision to place Harsefeld under Bremen was canceled by Duke Heinrich the Lion in 1158, but the abbey has now become a Guelph base. New conflicts with the Archbishop of Bremen led to a settlement in 1221. Archbishop Gebhard II confirmed the privileges of the monastery, but in return demanded responsibility for the election of the bailiff . Pope Alexander IV confirmed Harsefeld's exemption in 1260 in all forms. Bremen's Archbishop Hildbold (1258–1273) subsequently expelled Abbot Reinhold (1257–1270), who fled to Braunschweig; the archbishop had the monastery property devastated. The abbot's exile lasted three years before Pope Urban IV intervened. The abbey repeatedly suffered from the disputes between the Guelphs and the Archbishops of Bremen.

Heirs

The Amtshof, built in 1742 on the foundations of the abbey

So far it has not been sufficiently clear historically how and when the abbots of Harsefeld achieved the title of archabbot . In any case, the title was mentioned by the Pope in documents in the 14th century and legitimized at the latest. Gerlach Schulte (1375-1410) was the first head of the monastery to be called Archabbat ( Archiabbas - First Abbot). He came from a wealthy aristocratic family. Through foresight, he ensured the increase of the monastery's wealth, among other things by leasing land in the old country , which was further cultivated through his efforts. Pope Boniface IX decreed in 1394 that "you, my son Archabbot, and your successors can freely wear miter, ring and other pastoral signs [...]" and thereby permitted the wearing of the pontificals . In 1397 Gerlach Schulte gained further influence because he was represented in the estates of the Bremen archbishopric . The antipope John XXIII. shortly before his death in 1410, Schulte transferred jurisdiction over which “the papal chair was actually to be consulted”. The archabbot was also allowed to absolve people of their grave deeds if they had fulfilled the penance imposed on them.

His successors Johannes Schulte (1410–1440) and Johannes de Lu (1440–1462) also came from the Schulte family. These three archabbots achieved special merits through the new building of the abbey church and its furnishing with works of art such as the baptismal font from 1454, which is still preserved today. In general, the Harsefeld archabbots achieved the important position of first prelate in the archbishopric of Bremen from the end of the 14th century. You were born presidents and spokesman for the Bremen state estates vis-à-vis the archbishop. At the same time, in order to preserve the exemption of their monastery, they consistently oriented themselves towards the Pope. This caused difficulties for the Archabbey when Pope Martin V abolished the exemption privileges of his immediate predecessors in 1418 and the Archbishop of Bremen saw Harsefeld's (older) exempt position as settled. In 1462 the monastery received its first civil superior in Archabbot Mathias Grimmeke (1462–1482). The conflicts that arose after his death through a double election were soon settled. The resignation of Archabbot Detlev von Luneberg († 1513) in 1508 paved the way for the archabbey to join the Bursfeld congregation, which Archbishop Johann III. Rode von Wale promoted, u. a. because he hoped to be able to undermine the exemption of the Benedictine monastery. The turn to Bursfeld was supported by the elevation of the Huysburg monk Heinrich Dudenrath (1508–1527) as the new archabbot.

Reformation and Thirty Years War

The former abbey church of St. Marien and Bartholomäi

While the people of the north joined the Reformation, Harsefeld remained Catholic. In order to get better support from the Benedictine order, the archabbey joined the Bursfeld congregation in 1510 , but remained exempt. Soon the contact with Bursfelde loosened up again and was almost - but not completely - broken off by a gradual Protestantization of the surrounding area. The uncertain times demanded all energies of the monastery to maintain the properties. The monastery existed until 1648, but during the Thirty Years War it had to endure difficult times up to and including extensive destruction. The Mecklenburg knight Joachim Pentz from Gadebusch caused the greatest damage . He had lent 5,000 gold ducats to the lavish and unbridled Archbishop of Bremen, Christoph Herzog von Braunschweig-Lüneburg (1511 to 1558) . However, he made no move to pay off his debts.

Pentz tried to keep the monasteries subordinate to the Archbishop harmless and attacked the Harsefeld Benedictines twice. During the first attack on January 5, 1545, the monks got away with it halfway, they defended themselves with a hail of stones. It was different on February 25, 1546. With about a hundred men, Pentz entered the monastery, had it looted and set on fire. Pentz did not succeed in taking Archabbot Arnold Bicker (1527 to 1548) hostage because he was in Buxtehude . But when Pentz left, the monastery was in ruins. The abbot set about rebuilding and received multiple support.

From 1525 the surrounding places joined the Reformation, first Stade , then Buxtehude , Jork , Horneburg , Apensen and finally in 1558 Himmelpforten . Archabbot Christoph Bicker (1548–1575) was undecided, but did not take the step towards Protestantism. He and even more so his successors endeavored to keep the monastic community in the Catholic Church; They also accepted a large number of young men into the novitiate in order to later send them to Jesuit schools in Cologne and Fulda. Archabbot Luneberg Brummer (1575–1612) also endeavored to revive the Roman rite in the convent . Nevertheless, in 1611 the abbey only had seven convent members who led a more charitable life. In 1616 the monks had already given up their habit .

From Prague in 1616 and 1617, Emperor Matthias gave two abbots of the Bursfeld congregation the order to visit Harsefeld; however, they had to give up their project because of the Bremen resistance. It was not until the summer of 1624 that the two Hildesheim abbots began the visitation, which had to be broken off due to the lack of cooperation between Archabbot Paridon Korff (1618–1628) and his convent. A visitation made by the Bremen administrator Johann Friedrich in 1625 was grudgingly accepted by the monks despite a reference to their exemption . Apparently the monks had put on the habit again. The visitation was satisfactory.

At the General Chapter in Mainz in 1628, the Bursfeld Union appointed Abbot Friedrich Davensberg Archabbot of Harsefeld (1628–1633), who, in the course of the imperial edict of restitution , tried hard to reform and raise the convent: monks unwilling to reform had to leave the abbey and were replaced by conventuals from Cologne and Abdinghof replaced. The monastery also had some entries in 1631/32. The Archbishop-Administrator of Bremen, Johann Friedrich , took advantage of the withdrawal of the imperial troops from Stade due to the invasion of the Swedes in order to lift the monastery, which the monks who had fled from the Swedes, had left in 1632. The Benedictines who fled to Cologne elected Theoderich Pfingsthorn (1634–1639) as titular ore abbot. The last Archabbot of Harsefeld, Sebastian Bandex (1632/34 to 1648), elected in the meantime by the monks who had been ousted in 1628 and returned in 1634, and the death of the Archbishop revised the repeal. Bandex opposed the attempts of the Bursfeld Congregation to let their representatives gain a foothold again in the Harsfeld monastery. In 1648 the Catholic era was over. With the peace treaty between Münster and Osnabrück, the Peace of Westphalia , the Benedictine monastery was abolished. It only existed economically for a few decades. In 1690 the last religious priest left Harsefeld. In 1716 the monastery was described as "in a dilapidated state".

The church was preserved from the monastery. The foundations of the monastery buildings were excavated between 1981 and 1984 and turned into a park. The Harsefelder Museum, opened in 1986 and once used as a courthouse and registry, stands on the foundations of the monastery. The museum also offers an insight into the former life of the abbey.

Archaeological findings on the burial of the undead in Harsefeld Monastery

During the archaeological excavations in the 1980s, several graves were discovered in the western cloister , which indicate measures to be taken against the supposed undead . A man's grave had been opened later and a large boulder was placed on the head of the body. With this fossilization the (un) dead should obviously be held in the grave. Another burial showed several apotropaic acts: the corpse's feet had probably already been tied and the lower jaw fixed before the burial. After a few years the grave was reopened and the coffin was turned once so that the dead lay on his stomach. Then the grave was sealed with a layer of bricks above the coffin. In addition, the grave of an abbot was discovered during construction work inside the monastery church near the altar, whose lower extremities were bound and secured with a large iron padlock.

literature

  • Ernst Andreas Friedrich : The Harsefeld Monastery. In: If stones could talk. Volume III. Landbuch, Hannover 1995, ISBN 3-7842-0515-1 , pp. 77-79.
  • Nicolaus Heutger : Bursfelde and its reform monasteries. Hildesheim 1975, p. 118 (with bibliography).
  • Elmar Hochholzer: The Lorraine ('Gorzer') reform. In: Germania Benedictina . Volume 1. St. Ottilien 1999, pp. 43-87, here pp. 84f.
  • Richard Georg Hucke: The Counts of Stade 900–1144. Genealogy, political position, comitat and allodial possession of the Saxon Udons. Individual writings from the Stader Geschichts- und Heimatverein 8. Stade 1956.
  • Klaus Isensee: The Harsefeld Monastery in the 1st half of the 17th century. Images from the social and economic history of a spiritual manor. Harsefeld 1986.
  • Daniel Nösler: undead and spell. Two medieval revenant burials from the cloister of the Benedictine monastery Harsefeld. Past and present 2014, 11–20.
  • Heinz-Joachim Schulze: Harsefeld. In: Germania Benedictina. Volume 6. St. Ottilien 1979, pp. 137-152.
  • Wolfgang Seibrich: Counter Reformation as Restoration. The restoration efforts of the old orders in the German Empire from 1580 to 1648. Münster 1991, pp. 68–76, 125f, 163, 191f, 310, 313, 497, 572–575, 693.
  • Walter Ziegler : The Bursfeld Congregation. In: Germania Benedictina. Volume 1. St. Ottilien 1999, pp. 315-407, here p. 326, p. 386.
  • Diether Ziermann, Dietrich Alsdorf, Hans Drescher: A place in transition - Harsefeld Castle, Abbey and Monastery. Ed. Association for Monastery and Local History Harsefeld eV, Harsefeld 2002, ISBN 978-3-00-009118-6 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Daniel Nösler, see literature

Coordinates: 53 ° 27 ′ 14 ″  N , 9 ° 30 ′ 6 ″  E