Helfta Monastery

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Helfta Monastery
Monastery church and library house
Monastery church and library house
location GermanyGermany Germany
Saxony-Anhalt
Eisleben
Lies in the diocese Magdeburg
Coordinates: 51 ° 30 '30.5 "  N , 11 ° 34' 46.1"  E Coordinates: 51 ° 30 '30.5 "  N , 11 ° 34' 46.1"  E
Patronage Assumption Day
founding year 1229
Year of dissolution /
annulment
1542
Year of repopulation 1999
Mother monastery Seligenthal (repopulation)
Congregation incorporated directly into the Order
Liboriushaus, monastery church and convent building

The Helfta Monastery (actually: Monastery Sankt Marien zu Helfta ) is a Cistercian monastery in the district of Helfta of Lutherstadt Eisleben in Saxony-Anhalt . Today it is an independent priory of the Cistercian order. In the 13th century, the Helfta (Helpede) monastery was the center of German women's mysticism under Abbess Gertrud von Hackeborn (1232–1292) and was considered by the mystics and theologians Mechthild von Magdeburg (around 1207–1284 / 92), Gertrud von Helfta ( 1256–1301 / 02) and Mechthild von Hackeborn (1241–1298 / 9), a sister of Abbess Gertrud, as the pearl and crown of the German convents .

After the Reformation , the monastery was secularized in 1542, later used as a Prussian domain and in the time of the GDR as a state- owned property for storage purposes and fell into disrepair. Its demolition, planned in 1988, was prevented by petitions from the art teacher Joachim Herrmann . After the fall of the Wall in 1991, an association carried out the revitalization until it reopened in 1999. Today the monastery is also an educational center and a station on the Romanesque Road .

historical overview

founding

The monastery was founded in 1229 near Mansfeld near Mansfeld Castle by Count Burchard von Mansfeld and his wife, Countess Elisabeth von Schwarzburg near her Castle Mansfeld (Thal-Mansfeld) as the house monastery of the Counts of Mansfeld and with seven nuns from St. Jacobi Occupied monastery in front of Halberstadt . In 1234 the widow of Burchard I moved the monastery to the now desolate Rossdorf northwest of Eisleben . Countess Elisabeth died there in 1240, who had joined the convent after the death of her husband . In 1258 the nuns relocated to Helfta due to severe water shortages. The grave stone of the donor couple, which has been cherished and has evidently been relocated again and again, is now kept in St. Andrew's Church in Eisleben.

Economic conditions

Already richly endowed with real estate when it was founded, other local feudal lords besides the Counts of Mansfeld, the nobles of Hakeborn, Querfurt and Schraplau also gave gifts to the monastery. Numerous female members of the named sexes were educated in the monastery school and later held the office of abbess. Little is known about the composition of the monastery convent. Of the 18 abbesses, 15 came from the nobility. The number of nuns is said to have risen to 100 at times.

The Counts of Mansfeld, who were guardians of the monastery, had an interest in economic growth. At times there was hardly a place in Mansfeld where the monastery was not in some way wealthy.

Monastery pond with the sculpture of the three mystics, behind it the education and retreat house

Theological meaning

From the beginning, under the far-sighted and energetic direction of Gertrud von Hackeborn, the monastery was consistently concerned about its independence. At the same time rooted in the established ecclesiastical order and open to the problems of the time, the convention sought to promote new developments. The nuns lived according to the Regula Benedicti and accepted the reforms of the Cistercians without officially joining this new order; The medieval Helfta monastery was viewed by both Benedictine and Cistercian nuns as belonging to their own order. At the same time, close contacts were maintained with the Dominicans in Halle and opened up to the religiosity of the poverty movement , to which the noble founder of the monastery, Elisabeth von Mansfeld, had already turned. The monastic community finally opened up to the poverty movement and the associated theology and spirituality of the women's movement of the 13th century, when they dared to accept the beguines Mechthild von Magdeburg, not only to offer her refuge, but also specifically to do so she “enlighten and teach” her new sisters.

Since the abbess Gertrud, who ran the monastery for forty years (1251–1291), was convinced that religion would have no future without science, the monastery became a center for human science and theological studies. In addition to a carefully stocked library, there was also a scriptorium in which books for personal use and for other libraries were copied. Music was also of great importance, especially cultivated by Mechthild von Hackeborn, the "Nightingale of Christ". The monastery’s own literary production was not just a matter for the two highly talented nuns Gertrud and Mechthild: they were supported by a community that accompanied and supported them. So it would be too narrow to see Helfta only in terms of the three outstanding mystics; In science today one speaks of a "Helftaer theological school". In particular, "Sister N", who is no longer known by name and who played a significant role in the editing of the revelation transcripts of Gertrud and Mechthild, can be proven.

The continued effect of this Helfta in posterity can hardly be overestimated, but it has not yet been scientifically recorded more precisely. In any case, German mysticism is inconceivable without Helfta. Open questions are, for example, the influences on Meister Eckhart , who was prior in nearby Erfurt at times during these years. Certainly to assume, even if not yet proven in detail (except for Christine Ebner and Margareta Ebner ), are influences on the mysticism and literary activity in the southern German convents, along the important trade routes from Magdeburg via Nuremberg to the Swabian, Upper Rhine and Swiss areas. Due to the printing of the Helfta works shortly after 1500 in Saxony, initiated by Duchess Zedena , influences on Katharina von Bora and Martin Luther , which have yet to be researched, are also conceivable. In the course of the Catholic renewal since the second half of the 16th century, the writings from Helfta, especially those of Gertrude, spread across the entire Catholic world and were always topical in times of religious upheavals, far beyond the realm of mysticism. In the present, they are gaining interest again, also with regard to a human-friendly religiosity formulated by women that transcends denominational boundaries today. More recent research particularly emphasizes the importance of Helfta in the field of theology, where the Helfta writings emphasize an intimate personal "heart" relationship between God and man, in that the loving God approaches man and man in his love for dignity and self-confidence got.

Decline, reformation, abolition

The monastery came into distress several times in the following centuries, for example in 1284 when the Magdeburg burgrave Gebhart von Querfurt invaded. In 1294 King Adolf I of Nassau besieged the monastery and from 1342 to 1344 there was devastation during the Halberstadt bishop's feud by Albrecht II of Brunswick as Bishop of Halberstadt . One of the most drastic events was the relocation of the monastery by the monastery bailiff, Count Burchard IX, due to the devastation. from Mansfeld in front of the gates of Eisleben to the eastern city wall, called Neu Helfta.

During the Peasants' War most of the documents, plans and books were destroyed while the brew kettles were being heated. Some incunabula and prints from the Neu-Helfta monastery can be found in the tower library of St. Andrew's Church. The Counts of Mansfeld took the treasures of the monastery into safekeeping. After the turmoil of the Peasant War and the associated escape of the nuns from the Neuen-Helfta monastery via Halle, some nuns returned to Alt-Helfta with the abbess Katharina von Watzdorff in 1529 at the request of Count Hoyer , who had the monastery restored. After the death of the last abbess Walburg Reuben, the monastery was secularized by Count Hans Georg von Mansfeld-Eisleben in 1542 . The last written mention of the monastery is dated June 19, 1542. In 1566 the heavily indebted count sold the monastery office of Helfta for 34,000 gold guilders to the Westphalian Franz von Kerssenbrock . By marrying his granddaughter in 1641 it came into the possession of the Brandenburg General Georg Adam von Pfuel and in 1699 to his son-in-law, Field Marshal Heino Heinrich von Flemming . In 1712, King Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia, as overlordship, united Helfta with the neighboring manors to form a royal domain .

In 1868 the Catholic parish acquired the former Neu-Helfta monastery. Between 1869 and 1875, Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration from Osnabrück tried to revive the monastery. However, after the founding of the empire in 1871, they failed because of Otto von Bismarck's Kulturkampf legislation. When the order was banned in Prussia, the nuns found asylum in Oldenzaal in the Netherlands.

The GDR took over this state domain and converted it into a state-owned property (VEG) with around 2000 jobs. During this time, the monastery buildings were not adequately maintained and visibly deteriorated.

VEG Eisleben

After various collapses, it was decided in 1988 to blow up the decaying buildings, including the remains of the monastery church (one gable wall and one side). However, this was prevented by the energetic and personal commitment of the teacher and art educator Joachim Herrmann . In 1988, out of respect for the valuable cultural heritage, he advocated the preservation of the monastery at the council of the Eisleben district.

Interior view of the St. Marien monastery church

Buildings

Only remnants of the monastery church remain from the former monastery buildings. The church, a single-nave rectangular early Gothic building, was built in the second half of the 13th century. The east wall with a rounded, elongated group of three windows, parts of the south and north walls and the western nun gallery have been preserved from it.

Even before the official start of the reconstruction of the Helfta monastery on September 1, 1998, planning and building preparatory measures, such as building archaeological investigations in the former church and enclosure area, began in 1996.

reconstruction

After the end of the GDR, the idea of ​​rebuilding the Helfta monastery and settling it as a monastery gained space. For this purpose, the four existing support groups (from Saxony-Anhalt and Bavaria) formed the “Association of Friends of Helfta Monastery” on June 3, 1992. In August 1994, the diocese of Magdeburg acquired the property from the Treuhandanstalt with donations from this association (1.5 million DM) .

The reconstruction of the monastery church, the convent house and the cloister began on September 1, 1998 under the patronage of the Bishop of Magdeburg, Leo Nowak . This first phase of construction cost around 15 million DM, which was raised through donations from all over the world. The Federal Labor Office supported the reconstruction of the monastery by awarding an ABM for 36 unemployed people from the region.

After 457 years, seven Cistercian women from the Seligenthal Cistercian abbey in Landshut moved into the monastery on August 13, 1999 . Under the leadership of the resigned Abbess Maria Assumpta Schenkl from Seligenthal as the founding priority, they formed a new convent and revitalized the spiritual life in this place. The re-establishment of the monastery was sealed by a papal letter of November 17, 1999. This makes the Helfta monastery an independent priory of the Cistercians.

The monastery church of St. Mary and the convent buildings were by Bishop Leo Nowak on November 21, 1999 consecrated . The church building is characterized by a symbiosis of old buildings and modern architecture.

Furthermore, the following buildings have been inaugurated since then:

  • Education and retreat house (2001)
  • St. Gertrud's pen
  • Hotel at the monastery gate with its own brewery (2003)
  • Retirement and nursing home St. Mechthild ( Caritas ) (2003)
  • Liboriushaus in the old warehouse with monastery shop (2003)
  • Mansion
  • Gertrude Chapel (2008)

The buildings and land were transferred to the foundation “Kloster St. Marien zu Helfta”, founded on April 22nd, 2002 .

In 2007, in the open area behind the monastery, the “Living Labyrinth ” created by the Catholic Women's Community of Germany (kfd) was inaugurated as a place where people move and linger and enjoy creation and its center - a sheltering willow figure the divine mercy reminds us of the womb of God who gives space to life.

With regard to the mystics' image of God and man, the traditional Cistercian monastery motto also has an expanded and deepened meaning in Helfta: " Porta patet, cor magis - our door is open, and the heart even more ".

Leaders

The construction of the monastery in the post-communist era is largely thanks to the founder priority Maria Assumpta Schenkl; After her death (2009), Agnes Fabianek , former abbess of the Austrian abbey of Mariastern-Gwiggen , was appointed administrator by Abbot General Maurus Esteva on June 11, 2009 for an initial period of one and a half years. On November 18, 2010 she was elected prioress by the convent and worked in this office until her death in 2015. The convent elected the Danish Christiane Hansen (* 1965), who in 1990 had to leave the later disbanded Danish Cistercian convent Sostrup , as her successor . moved to Germany and came to Helfta from Seligenthal Abbey in 2013 .

seal

An oval convent seal with a representation of the Annunciation is preserved. Under a double-arched canopy stand the figures of the angel Gabriel and Maria with the majuscule inscription: S. SCE. MARIE VIRGINIS IN HELPEDE.

There is also a seal of Abbess Sophie from 1311. It shows a woman praying under the resurrection of Christ. The inscription reads: S. ABBATISSE. MON. HELPEDE.

The seal of Abbess Lukardis (mutilated) and the provost Johannes on the Roßleber deed of 9 September 1346 are still known. The inscription reads: ABBATISSE… RD HELPED and (S) IGILLUM PREPOSITI IN HELPE.

Sources and literature

Printed sources

  • Max Krühne: Document book of the monasteries of the county of Mansfeld, Helfta monastery. Halle 1888, pp. 129–297.
  • FC von Moser: Document book of the Cistercensian Closter Helpede or Neue Helfte from the years 1229–1521, which was formerly located outside the city of Eisleben. In: Diplomatic and Historical Amusements. Volume 2, 1st department, Halle, Leipzig 1755.
  • Ch. Schoettgen, G. Ch. Kreysing: Diplomataria et scriptores Germaniae aevi. Part II., Altenberg 1755.
  • A. von Erath: Codex diplomaticus Quedlinburgensis. Frankfurt / Main 1764.
  • G. Schmidt: Document book of the Hochstift Halberstadt. Part 1–4, Volumes 17, 21, 27, 40. Leipzig 1883.
  • C. Spangenberg: Mansfeld Chronicle. Part 1., Eisleben 1572. Part 3. ed. R. von Leehrs, Eisleben 1912. Part 4. Description of the Graeveschaft Mansfeltt from place to place. ed. C. von Rühlemann. IN. Mansfeld leaves Eisleben 1913.

Unprinted sources

  • State Archives Saxony-Anhalt , Magdeburg Department:
    • Stocks
      • U 11, IX (59 documents, 1298–1718).
      • Da 32 Amt Helfta (files, 1559–1856).
    • Individual archives
      • Cop., No. 423 News about the Helfta Monastery near Eisleben, Fundation, Donation et al. , 1267–1549.
      • D 13, II No. 1 Decreed council notice on the office of Eisleben and Klosterhof Helfta , 1563.

literature

  • Hermann Großler : The heyday of the Helfta monastery. In: Program of the Royal High School in Eisleben. Eisleben 1887 pp. 1–38.
  • Gerlinde Schlenker: Helfta, Saxony. In: Repertory of the Cistercians in the states of Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. Langwaden 1998 ISBN 3-910082-60-2 pp. 287-291.
  • Walter Repges: “You have to accept heaven as a gift”. The mystics of Helfta. 2nd edition Benno-Verlag, Leipzig 2002. 144 pp. - ISBN 3-7462-1424-6 .
  • Willi Kraning (Ed.): Helfta Monastery - Oasis for Life. Look in the past. Life today. Lutherstadt Eisleben / Helfta 2004.
  • Michael Bangert: The mystic Gertrud the Great and the St. Marien convent in Helfta. In the S. (Ed.): Freedom of the Heart. Mysticism with Gertrud von Helfta (Hefta). LIT Verlag, Münster 2004, ISBN 3-8258-7397-8 , pp. 5-21.
  • Josef Hochenauer: Helfta-An Adventure of God. The history of the reconstruction 1990–2000. Lindenberg 2003.
  • Josef Hochenauer: Gertrude chapel in St. Marien monastery in Helfta. Chapel of Worship. 1st edition. Kunstverlag Fink, Lindenberg 2008, ISBN 978-3-89870-518-9 .
  • Hildegund Keul, Siegfried Ringler: In the freedom of the living spirit. Helfta as a geo-historical place of German mysticism. In: Siegfried Ringler (Ed.): Departure to a new God's speech. The mysticism of Gertrud von Helfta. Matthias Grünewald Verlag, Ostfildern 2008, ISBN 978-3-7867-2708-8 , pp. 21-35.
  • Mathias Köhler: Helfta Monastery, Cistercian Priory St. Marien. Regensburg 2013. ISBN 978-3-7954-5970-3 .

Web links

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

Individual evidence

  1. a b Gerlinde Schlenker: Helfta, Saxony. 1998 p. 288.
  2. ^ Mathias Koehler: Helfta Monastery . 2013 p. 4.
  3. Hermann Großler: Descriptive representation of the older architectural and art monuments of the Mansfeld Saalekreis. 1895 p. 205.
  4. M. Krühne: Document book of the monasteries of the county of Mansfeld. 1888, interest book of the Helfta monastery, no. 185, pp. 246–291.
  5. According to Keul / Ringler (see below) p. 29
  6. According to Keul / Ringler (see below) p. 28
  7. See Ruh (see below) p. 296 and ö.
  8. Cf. Siegfried Ringler: Viten- und Revelationsliteratur in women's monasteries of the Middle Ages. Sources and Studies . Artemis, Munich 1980, pp. 60-63; 225f .; 373
  9. ^ Matthias Köhler: Helfta Monastery. 2013 p. 10.
  10. Gertrudkapelle ( Memento from October 16, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
  11. According to www.lebendiges-labyrinth.de
  12. ^ Official Journal of the Diocese of Magdeburg from July 2009
  13. Prioress of Helfta Monastery has died. News from the Catholic Press Agency Austria dated January 20, 2015 (accessed on January 20, 2015).
  14. Bonifatiusblatt , vol. 156 (2015), issue 2 (May – August 2015), p. 5.
  15. I have found my home here. Christiane Hansen heads the Cistercian convent Helfta (PDF; 499 kB). Press release of the Investment and Marketing Company Saxony-Anhalt, Magdeburg 2017, accessed in November 2019.
  16. ^ Gerlinde Schlenker: Helfta, Saxony. 1998 p. 291.