Levern Monastery
| Levern Monastery | |
|---|---|
 View of the twin church from the northeast |
|
| location |
 Germany North Rhine-Westphalia |
| Coordinates: | 52 ° 22 '28 " N , 8 ° 27' 14.5" E |
| founding year | 1227 |
| Year of dissolution / annulment |
before 1543 |
The monastery and later Abbey of Levern is a former monastery of the Cistercian Sisters in Levern , a district of the municipality of Stemwede . It existed from 1227 to 1543 at the latest and in the course of the Reformation was converted into a free-worldly, aristocratic women's monastery , which was dissolved in 1810 by Jérôme Bonaparte , King of the Kingdom of Westphalia . It was on the top of the Leverner collegiate hill named after him . The monastery was next to St. Aegidii in Münster the earliest convent of his order in Westphalia.
The monastery (1227 – before 1543)
In 1227 the monastery at Levern was founded by the Minden Bishop Konrad von Rüdenberg , who made it subject to his episcopal patronage alone. The previous pastor of Leverns, Bernhard, was the first monastery provost . The parish church, which had existed in Levern for at least 250 years, was incorporated into the monastery when it was founded.
In 1231 the papal visitor Ernst von Bremen set the maximum number of nuns for the monastery at 30; however, it will likely never have reached that number. In the same year the parish church in Dielingen , the main church of a neighboring church, became the property of the Levern convent; it was incorporated into the monastery.
From the years 1228, 1231 and 1235 come three letters of protection for the Levern monastery; two were by Pope Gregory IX. and one issued by Emperor Friedrich II .
Between 1235 and 1283 both Pope Gregory IX. and some German bishops issued indulgence letters that were supposed to secure the financing of the monastery complex.
In the years 1242 to 1249 there is talk of a planned relocation of the monastery, which means that the monastery facilities had not yet developed beyond their provisional character; In the end it was decided to build the monastery next to the parish church. The medieval bishops chronicles from Minden attribute the construction and completion of both the convent building and the monastery church to the term of office of the fourth provost, Burchard (1269–1303); which means that the plants were built between 1269 and 1283.
In 1277 the Levern monastery left the archdeaconate Lübbecke and formed its own administration; the respective provost of the monastery, who was also parish priest at the same time, was since then also archdeacon of Levern.
On May 1, 1283, the now completed monastery church, which stood wall to wall with the parish church, was consecrated by Bishop Volkwin von Minden. The church building has been preserved to this day and is over 700 years old. The convent buildings should also have been ready for occupancy at this time.
In the period between 1227 and 1430 the monastery must have been incorporated into the Cistercian order, because Heinrich Volkers, a Cistercian, was provost of the monastery since 1430 at the latest. In addition, during his tenure, the monastery was visited in 1460 by the abbot of the Cistercian monastery of Loccum . At first it was independent of the order, especially since a female branch of the Cistercian order was not yet established when the monastery was founded in Levern in 1227. The Levern Monastery became one of the largest landowners in the parish of Levern and far beyond; the extensive land acquisition was not completed until 1500.
The monastery owned extensive real estate in today's cities and communities of Stemwede , Preußisch Oldendorf , Lübbecke and Espelkamp in what is now the Minden-Lübbecke district and on the Lower Saxony side in Bad Essen , Bohmte ( Osnabrück district ), Brockum , Quernheim , Marl , Stemshorn ( district Diepholz ), Diepenau and Liebenau ( Nienburg district ).
The free worldly aristocratic women's monastery (before 1543-1810)
It is no longer possible to determine exactly when the Reformation entered Levern today; the first Luther writings in the parish library date from 1532/33. The Reformation in the parish of Levern was completed by 1543 at the latest, because the Jesuits did not demand the return of the Levern Monastery to the Catholic Church during the Counter Reformation (1543 had been agreed as the deadline). In addition, there are two letters from this year which expressly mention the “maids of Levern”. However, this term would never have been used for Catholic nuns and refers to a Protestant pen .
This fact is mentioned by name for the first time in 1558 ("Fräulein-Stift Levern"). The conversion into a free-worldly, noble women's monastery also meant the end of the strict enclosure of the monastery community; the noble canons no longer lived in the old monastery buildings, but in the newly emerging individual curiae .
The independent position of the provosts continued to exist; but since these belonged mainly to the Minden cathedral chapter , they remained catholic longer than the former nuns. As a rule, the Leverner Stiftspröpsten had a seat and vote in the Minden Landtag, as the Princes of Minden had been secularized and in 1648 became part of Brandenburg-Prussia as the Principality of Minden .
In December 1656 there were disagreeable arguments and fights between the members of the monastery and a neighbor; the “maiden war” had broken out: the canons and their 18 maids tore down a plank structure between the rectory at the time and the garden of Rudolf Bruns, with which Rudolf Bruns, neighbor of the canonies, had satisfied his property, although the border he claimed was disputed. Thereupon he turned to the sovereign authorities, and the next day the Drost of the Reineberg Office sent a bailiff with many riflemen to Levern and had carts, horses and other cattle taken away from the monastery. This quickly put an end to the dispute.
After Levern survived the Thirty Years' War quite lightly, French troops under Marshal François de Créquy marched through Levern in 1679 and caused severe damage to the abbey and the double church. The reconstruction took decades, and the monastery buildings that still exist today were built.
In the monastery, the number of capitular women, including the abbess , was fixed at ten. Later two so-called “prospects” were also admitted.
When the abbess's position became vacant (through death or resignation for the purpose of marriage), a successor was elected from the chapter within six weeks; a simple majority of the votes decided in the election; the provost also took part in the election, but had two votes. In 1729 there was a lengthy "trial of the free election of provost" of Levern Abbey, which the Minden Cathedral Chapter led against Levern Abbey:
While the cathedral chapter in Minden tried to obtain the right to vote in the elections of provosts in Levern on the basis of rich evidence, the Levern monastery was able to prove, based on the electoral capitulations of the provosts and other evidence, that it had always had the right to freely choose provosts: In this context, the canonesses cite some provosts from the beginning of the 15th century who were not canons of Minden.
In 1764, King Frederick II the Great awarded Levern Abbey a medal, which the canonesses and provost were allowed to wear from then on. The 19th century brought about the decline of Levern Abbey. After 1803 the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss the prince acknowledged the right to dissolve all the monasteries, convents, etc., and Levern and around 1807 to the newly created Kingdom of Westphalia be ceded had ordered King Jérôme 1810, the dissolution of all religious institutions in his kingdom.
On Christmas Eve 1810 the time had come in Levern; an accounting trainee from Kassel appeared in Levern to confiscate the foundation's assets and retire the canons. Levern Abbey ceased to exist after more than 250 years. The only relics from the old monastery or monastery period in Levern are the church and the old monastery buildings.
In 1818 King Friedrich Wilhelm III announced. von Prussia that the Prussian state, as the new owner of the former collegiate church, is giving the building to the parish of Levern. The community had no use for the inventory of the old collegiate church and gradually sold all art objects, so that the collegiate church was completely emptied in 1825 apart from a few corpse stones of the abbesses and a few coats of arms on the walls.
At the beginning of 1819 the district administrator of the Rahden district gave the order to demolish the remains of the cloister on the north wall of the church, which was no longer needed and was dilapidated.
Church building
architecture
The church building is now an asymmetrical three-aisled hall church with two roofs. It was given this shape in 1828 when the two adjacent churches (former monastery or collegiate church and the parish church) were structurally united. Since then, both buildings have been used as a double church by the Evangelical Lutheran parish in Levern.
Parish church
The parish church was built in the late Gothic style in the 15th century on the site of a previous Romanesque building that had existed before the monastery. It was originally a two-aisled, three-bay hall church with a choir in the 5/8 end and buttresses . Today it forms the central and south aisles of the double church.
The windows on the south side and on the chancel are ogival , in two parts and equipped with tracery , one window on the west side of the south aisle has been walled up. Belt and blind arches as well as an entrance on the north side of the choir are also ogival.
In the nave there is a ribbed vault with keystones , in the choir there is a star-like vault .
Former monastery and collegiate church
The monastery church, consecrated in 1283, was built in the early Gothic style as a hall with three rectangular bays without a separate choir. Today it represents the north aisle of the double church.
On the north side there are pointed arched windows without tracery, on the east side there is a window with a clover leaf arch and a pointed niche. Ribbed vaults are drawn into the yokes.
An extension from the 20th century is attached to the east side of the north aisle and the north side of the choir. The sacristy was previously located here . The ship is covered by its own gable roof.
tower
The tower stands on the west side of today's central nave. It is essentially Romanesque and was renovated in 1582. Originally it was probably part of the previous building of the parish church. The sound holes, like the entrance on the south side, are rounded . Inside there is a wooden ceiling.
In 1715 the tower was rebuilt after it collapsed in a storm. The baroque spire comes from this time .
Interior
The interior of the church is predominantly Baroque from the late 17th century. These include the altar from 1691, the carved baptismal font (1684), the organ prospectus (1682) and a chandelier from 1697. The pulpit , gallery and seat of the abbess also date from this period .
The epitaph for the provost Eberhard von Mallinckrodt from 1617 shows the Renaissance style ; the triumphal cross from the second half of the 15th century is Gothic .
List of provosts at Levern
The following list contains all of the provosts of the monastery or monastery of Levern. In some cases, the exact terms of office are not recorded; then the mentions are given in the individual years.
- Bernhard 1227-1241
- Wilhelm 1242-1250
- Johann 1252-1266
- Burchard 1269-1303
- Liborius 1304, 1309
- Gerhard 1331
- Johann von Borbeke 1332
- William 1343
- Rabodo 1344, 1348
- Hermann 1350
- Lambert 1355
- Bruno 1367, 1373
- Albert Cran 1378
- Richard von Gropeling 1380
- Godeke Levoldi 1392, 1396
- Johann von Westorpe 1405, 1415
- Arnold Stove 1420, 1427
- Heinrich Volkers, Cistercian 1430, 1470
- Johan Volquarding 1471
- Heinrich Döding 1474, 1499
- Hermann Hornemann 1499, 1507
- Engelbert (von) Holle 1505 (?), 1521
- Johann Brune 1525, 1545, is dead in 1548
- Johann von Münch, canon of the collegiate monastery St. Johann zu Osnabrück 1549, 1562
- Heinrich von Gemmingen, Knight of the Teutonic Order 1559
- Eberhard von Vahrendorf , Cathedral Scholaster in Bremen January 24, 1564 confirmed
- Johann von Vincke, Canon of Minden 1567–1596 (†)
- Gottschalk von Ledebur, Provost of Osnabrück, Canon of Minden 1596–1600 (†)
- Eberhard von Mallinkrodt, cathedral dean of Minden 1600–1617 (†)
- Heinrich von Steding, Canon of Minden 1617–1625 (†)
- Ernst von Reden (Lutheran), Canon of Minden 1626–1631, 1633–1643 (†)
- Johann Heinrich von Vincke (Catholic), canon and senior of Minden 1632–33 administrator, provost since 1643
- Johann Adrian von Wendt, cathedral dean and provost of Osnabrück, cathedral sexton of Minden, canon of Halberstadt 1670–1694 (†)
- Albert Clamor von dem Bussche, cathedral dean of Minden, district administrator in the Principality of Minden 1694–1710 (†), confirmed as provost: March 23, 1695
- Johann Dietrich von Vincke, Canon and Grand Bailiff of Minden 1710–1714 (†)
- Arnold Heinrich von Treskow, canon and archdeacon of Minden, provost of St. Marien zu Minden, district administrator for the offices of Reineberg and Rahden 1714–1728 (†)
- Georg Ludwig von Baer, Canon of Minden 1728, rejected by the king
- Resigned to Colonel von Massow on August 15, 1729
- Wilhelm Christian von der Recke zu Stockhausen August 15–12. December 1729, canceled
- Friedrich von der Horst zu Haldem, Prussian secret finance council and "comissaire en chef" of the government of Lingen 1730–1762 (†)
- Julius August von der Horst , Canon of Magdeburg 1762–1791 (†) (1749–1762 coadjutor)
- Friedrich Adolf August von der Horst, Canon of Magdeburg 1791–1793 (†) (1784–1791 coadjutor)
- Eberhard von der Recke , Prussian Minister of State 1793–1810
List of Abbesses at Levern
- M (athilde?) 1227?
- Mathilde 1242, 1245
- Mechtildis 1289, 1309
- Salome 1317
- Salome von Bardeleben 1331, 1335
- Elisabeth 1335
- Mathilde 1343
- Hildegund von Büren 1344, 1350
- Helena (von Dedekowen?) 1348, 1368
- Engele 1381, 1392
- Adelheid of Bele 1405
- Margarete von Blasheim 1420, 1438
- Lutgildis 1443
- Mathilde (Mette) von Westorp 1459, 1487
- Lucke from Westorp 1493, 1521
- Ilseke von Stemshorn 1537
- Hille Bucks 1545, 1562
- Anna von Gropeling 1568, 1586
- Maria von Horn 1588
- Margarete von der Horst 1596–1647 (†)
- Sibilla von Mallinckrodt 1653
- Margarete Agnes von der Recke 1668–1687, died in 1688
- Anna Catharina von der Recke 1687–1710 (†)
- Agnes Margarete von Schele 1710–1740
- Eva Sophie von Korff 1740–1746
- Amalie Charlotte von Schele zu Kuhoff 1746–1766 (†)
- Judith Sibylla von Langen 1766–1784 (†)
- Amalie Juliane von der Horst 1784–1790 (†)
- Sophie Charlotte von Steding 1790–1800 (†)
- Sophie Eleonore Christiane von Münchhausen 1800–1808 (†)
literature
- Georg Dehio (Hrsg.): Handbook of the German art monuments , North Rhine-Westphalia, II. Westphalia, Unveränd. New edition with Nachtr., Munich / Berlin 1986, ISBN 3422003908 , p. 294.
- Albert Ludorff : The architectural and art monuments of Westphalia . Volume 22: The architectural and art monuments of the Lübbecke district. Münster iW 1907, p. 49 ff.
