Helgoland Monastery

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Helgoland Monastery

Coordinates: 50 ° 20 ′ 34.6 "  N , 7 ° 11 ′ 36.2"  E

The Helgoland Monastery was a house of the Franciscan Sisters of the Holy Family . It was initially founded as the parent company after the community was expelled from Belgium in 1921 . The sisters took over the building of the “Helgoland” restaurant near Mayen in the Eifel region . Many restaurants from the imperial era bore the name of the island, which was an object of national enthusiasm. At the end of 2010 the Helgoland monastery was closed because the order lacked the next generation and the youngest of the last sisters was already 70 years old.

history

Last service in the monastery chapel on November 9, 2010
Procession to Marieninsel in the garden of Helgoland Monastery

After the order was founded in 1857, the Franciscan Sisters of the Holy Family initially had their mother house in Eupen . It was in Leuven from 1875 until the community was expelled from Belgium in 1921 . It is said that Elisabeth Le Hanne, a daughter of the center politician August Reichensperger , recommended the Franciscan nuns a plot of land in the Nettetal northwest of Mayen, a 57,400 m² area with old buildings, on which the foundation stone for the Helgoland monastery was laid on July 1, 1922; The monastery was consecrated in September 1923. In 1994 the motherhouse was moved back to Eupen.

House of prayer and reflection

The sisters ran their monastery near Mayen as a place of prayer and reflection as well as a conference center . The days of prayer and contemplation of the Kolping Society of Trier Diocesan Association, which were initiated by Sister Eva Maria Graef (1906–1997) from Koblenz, Dominican, have been a permanent feature of the Helgoland monastery for the past 20 years . Following the example of the prayer vigil for perpetual adoration in the pilgrimage church on the Lindenberg near St. Peter in the Black Forest , Sister Eva Maria wanted to set up something similar in her vicinity and found the place in the Franciscan convent near Mayen where her idea became reality. Perpetual adoration had been allowed in the chapel of the monastery around the clock since 1935, but this had become an obligation that was difficult to fulfill after the number of sisters had decreased considerably over the years. On May 29, 1989, the first men and women from different Kolping families came to the idyllic house to pray, but also to find peace and relaxation. After more than 20 years, the days of prayer and reflection in the monastery of Helgoland ended with a church service celebrated by Kolping Diocesan President Thomas Gerber and a joint lunch on November 9, 2010, the 13th anniversary of Sister Eva Maria's death.

End after 87 years

On Thursday, September 30, 2010, Auxiliary Bishop Jörg Michael Peters said goodbye to their monastery, which they had to give up for reasons of age, in the presence of Abbot Benedikt Müntnich ( Maria Laach ) and Mayor Mayor Veronika Fischer as well as numerous guests with the sisters. The mayor paid tribute to Helgoland and said: "I am sure that the spirit of this monastery will survive its closure," and added: "We will always remember everything that has happened to us in this building."

Eight of the remaining sisters moved to Polch in the St. Stephanus senior center, where they were able to set up a new small convent . Sister Clarissa Zitschke, contact person for the guests, however, went to Aachen in the Franziskushospital . She died on October 19, 2013 at the age of 74.

Since 2011 the entire complex of the Helgoland monastery with the listed building with 68 rooms, three apartments and the meanwhile profaned monastery chapel has been for sale; A purchase price of 2.1 million euros was required. In March 2017 it was auctioned off to an investor for 575,000 euros. The minimum bid was set at 365,000 euros.

It was temporarily planned to convert the property into a senior facility with day care. However, this project failed.

In February 2019 it was announced that the former monastery would be used as a student residence. According to the landlord, the property is “the perfect place for all students who want to combine the advantages of living together with peace and privacy through the many opportunities for retreat”. The rooms offered are between 10 and 25 square meters.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Rhein-Zeitung, Cochem-Zell district, October 1, 2010, page 15.
  2. ↑ Postcard of the restaurant at http://ansika.de/html/gastronomie.html~
  3. ↑ a b Elvira Bell: Nuns have to leave Nettetal . In: Rhein-Zeitung of September 29, 2010, page 22.
  4. ↑ www.eifel.de ( Memento from March 14, 2016 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on March 14, 2016.
  5. ↑ Stadtjournal Mülheim-Kärlich, December 2010 edition.
  6. ↑ Two days of Helgoland Monastery is equivalent to ten days of vacation . In: Press service of the Diocese of Trier on May 27, 2002, accessed on March 14, 2016.
  7. ↑ Elvira Bell: Moving farewell . In: Paulinus, edition 42/2010, accessed on March 14, 2016.
  8. ^ Convent of St. Elisabeth. Pastoral care, accessed on March 14, 2016.
  9. ^ Order in the Diocese of Trier, accessed on March 14, 2016 ( Memento from March 14, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
  10. ↑ The yearning of nine sisters is called Helgoland . In: Rhein-Zeitung of December 23, 2012, accessed on March 14, 2016.
  11. ↑ Rhein-Zeitung of December 29, 2011, accessed on March 14, 2016.
  12. ^ Hilko Röttgers: Helgoland Monastery: Bidders drive up price . In: Rhein-Zeitung No. 69, edition BO, of March 22, 2017, p. 20.
  13. ^ Rhein-Zeitung: Helgoland Monastery - There are plans for a new use . Retrieved September 19, 2017.
  14. ^ Hilko Röttgers: Helgoland Monastery: Hotel instead of retirement home . Rhein newspaper. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
  15. ↑ New use in the Nettetal: Helgoland Abbey becomes a student residence. Retrieved February 28, 2019 .
  16. ↑ Hilko Röttgers: The monastery becomes a dormitory for students . In Rhein-Zeitung on March 19, 2019. Retrieved on March 19, 2019.