Marienschloss monastery

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Abbess building from the southeast, St. Mary's Church behind, barbed wire of the prison on the left
Outer gate of the monastery complex

Marienschloss Monastery is the former monastery complex of the Cistercian Sisters in Rockenberg in the Wetterau in Hesse . The Hessian cultural monument is now used as the Rockenberg correctional facility.

history

Marienschloss, steel engraving from 1860
Gothic epitaph of the donor couple (14th century)

The previous institution was probably a hermitage dedicated to nursing. On April 30, 1338 knight Johann von Bellersheim , called von Rockenberg, and his wife Gertrud, called Gezele von Düdelsheim , founded the last Cistercian nunnery in Hesse. On November 1, 1339, the monastery church was consecrated with the patronage of St. Mary and St. John the Baptist . Through Pope Innocent VI. Marienschloss was incorporated into the Cistercian order in 1342 and the Arnsburg monastery was subordinate to it. In the further course of the 14th and 15th centuries, the monastery was endowed with endowed goods. Under the abbess Lucia von Weisen, monastery breeding fell into disrepair, so that in 1466 the Archbishop of Mainz, Adolf II, occupied almost the entire convent, including the abbess. The Reformation was introduced in Rockenberg in 1535. However, the nuns remained Catholic. Since then, the abbess has presented tolerant Protestant pastors in the Rockenberg parish church as patroness. Since the Diet of Speyer in 1544, the monastery was placed under Emperor Charles V and passed to Kurmainz in 1581 .

In the course of the Counter Reformation , Oppershofen and Rockenberg were re-Catholicized in 1602 and 1603. Before the Thirty Years' War began , numerous construction works followed from 1606 to 1619. But soon the monastery suffered severely from multiple looting and the partial destruction of monastery buildings during the war. After the war, the buildings were initially repaired. During a visitation in 1678, Vicar General Volusius described the monastery as "the poorest, but its nuns the most willing to obey". It only experienced a heyday in the 18th century, when the restored buildings under the abbesses Christiane Strebin (term of office 1678–1724), Franziska Koch (1724–1736) and Antonia Hartz (1736–1774) were gradually replaced or fundamentally replaced by new baroque buildings have been renewed. However, the general economic conditions remained modest. The monastery wall was expanded. The new abbey building was completed in 1733 and the new provost in 1744, the new monastery church was built from 1746 to 1749 in the Rococo style. Its interior was only completed in 1778 with the high altar .

Due to the construction work, the monastery was burdened with considerable debts. In addition, the monastery suffered from afflictions in the war years of 1743, 1757 and especially 1792, which led to its decline. In October 1792 French troops occupied the monastery. In 1794, some of the monastery rooms were used as the “imperial hospital”. At the end of 1802 Ludwig X. , Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt, took Rockenberg into his possession. The entry of novices as well as the taking of religious vows was forbidden. Due to the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss the monastery came to Hessen-Darmstadt in 1803 and was dissolved in 1809. The few remaining nuns moved to live with their relatives in 1808 or moved into a house next to the Rockenberg parish church. The monastery was converted into a reformatory and from 1811 prisoners moved into it. In 1939 it was converted into a youth prison for male adolescents. In 1946 the state of Hesse became the new owner.

architecture

Chapter house below the nuns gallery of the monastery church
Main gate in the east wing

Marienschloss lies northwest of Rockenberg, east of the Wetter . Only the foundations and remains of the monastery buildings from the Gothic period have survived. However, it is possible that some of the buildings are essentially older than the 18th century. To the north of the church is the cloister , the south wing of which runs below today's church. This indicates that the previous church was about 2 meters narrower and ended in front of the cloister. The former three-wing convent building in the north was extensively rebuilt in the 19th century when the monastery was converted into a penitentiary. In 1835 it was increased by one floor due to overcrowding. The slightly lower, two-storey abbess building is attached to the monastery church made of light quarry stone masonry , which forms the southern end of several monastery buildings. The main gate of Marienschloss, whose portal is marked 1733, leads through the building. In the west is the original prioress building, which has been used since 1998 as the Wilhelm Leuschner Memorial Room and as a museum for the Oppershofen Culture and History Association. The former prelate building is located off to the south of the monastery church.

The western area of ​​the nave is separated in the lower area by a partition and originally probably formed the chapter house of the nunnery. A modern staircase from the 1960s leads down to the accessible cloister 3 meters below . The previous church from the first half of the 14th century was built on this level. The south wing is still from the Gothic period. The three other wings were renewed in 1737 and a superstructure was added. Today these three wings on both floors are used as an infirmary and for pre- trial detention in the prison and are not released for inspection.

literature

  • Alexander F. Fiolka: 675 years of Marienschloß. From the Cistercian monastery to the penal institution 1338 to 2013 (= contributions to the history of the monastery , issue 5). Culture and History Association Oppershofen eV, Rockenberg 2013.
  • Manfred Breitmoser, Alexander Fiolka: 200 years of prison. Aspects of building and economic, personal and social history from 1811 to 1870 (= contributions to the history of the monastery , issue 4). Culture and History Association Oppershofen eV, Rockenberg 2011.
  • Georg Dehio : Handbook of the German art monuments . Hesse II. Darmstadt administrative district. Edited by Folkhard Cremer, Tobias Michael Wolf and others. 3. Edition. Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-422-03117-3 , p. 684.
  • Jascha Philipp Braun: “Ergasterium Disciplinarium” - “Breeding through work” in the Marienschloss state penitentiary. In: Messages from the Upper Hessian History Association, Giessen. Volume 93, Giessen 2008, ISSN  0342-1198 , pp. 357-378.
  • Maria Pia Schindele, Christian Vogel, Alexander F. Fiolka: 200 years of secularization (= contributions to the history of the monastery , issue 1). Culture and History Association Oppershofen eV, Rockenberg 2003.
  • Alexander F. Fiolka: Church and monastery of the former Cistercian abbey Marienschloß zu Rockenberg. Chronology of Marienschloß. 2nd Edition. Culture and History Association Oppershofen eV, Rockenberg 2003.
  • State Office for the Preservation of Monuments Hesse (ed.), Heinz Wionski (edit.): Cultural monuments in Hesse. Wetteraukreis II. Volume 2: Altkreis Friedberg, Friedberg-Wöllstadt. (= Monument topography Federal Republic of Germany ). Theiss, Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 978-3-528-06227-9 , pp. 946-948.
  • Ulrich Simon: Marienschloss Monastery, its beginnings and its donors. In: Wetterau history sheets. Volume 38. Friedberg 1989, ISBN 3-87076-058-3 , pp. 35-71.
  • Friedrich Kling (Red.): 650 years of Marienschloß Rockenberg. 1338-1988. Culture and History Association Oppershofen eV, Rockenberg 1988.
  • Johann Gesser: Rockenberg in the Wetterau. A Wetterau village in the mirror of history, 1150–1950, a home book for the 800th anniversary. Rockenberg municipality 1950 ( online , PDF file).
  • Rudolf Adamy: Art monuments in the Grand Duchy of Hesse. Province of Upper Hesse. Friedberg district. Arnold Bergstraesser, Darmstadt 1895, p. 61 ( online ).

Web links

Commons : Klosterkirche (JVA Rockenberg)  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b State Office for the Preservation of Monuments Hesse (ed.): Former. Cistercian convent Marienschloß and later state penitentiary, today youth prison In: DenkXweb, online edition of cultural monuments in Hessen
  2. ↑ Marienschloss
  3. ^ Fiolka: 675 years of Marienschloß. 2013, p. 18.
  4. ↑ Georg Wilhelm Justin Wagner : The Cistercians at Marienschloss . In: The former spiritual monasteries in the Grand Duchy of Hesse. Volume 1: Province of Starkenburg and Upper Hesse. Darmstadt 1873, pp. 210-217.
  5. ^ Fiolka: 675 years of Marienschloß. 2013, p. 18.
  6. ^ Fiolka: 675 years of Marienschloß. 2013, pp. 41–42.
  7. ^ Kling: 650 years of Marienschloß Rockenberg. 1988, p. 37.
  8. ↑ Schindele, Vogel, Fiolka: 200 years of secularization. 2003, pp. 24-25, 30-31.
  9. ^ Kling: 650 years of Marienschloß Rockenberg. 1988, p. 43.
  10. ↑ Breitmoser, Fiolka: 200 years of penal institution. 2011, p. 115.
  11. ^ Gail Larrabee: A contribution to the construction history of the Cistercian convent Marienschloß. In: Friedrich Kling (Red.): 650 years of Marienschloß Rockenberg. 1988, pp. 59-64.
  12. ↑ Schindele, Vogel, Fiolka: 200 years of secularization. 2003, p. 30.
  13. ^ Friedrich Kling (Red.): 650 years of Marienschloß Rockenberg. 1988, p. 78.
  14. ^ Fiolka: Church and monastery of the former Cistercian abbey Marienschloß zu Rockenberg. 2003, p. 11.
  15. ^ Fiolka: Church and monastery of the former Cistercian abbey Marienschloß zu Rockenberg. 2003, p. 57.
  16. ^ Fiolka: Church and monastery of the former Cistercian abbey Marienschloß zu Rockenberg. 2003, p. 52.

Coordinates: 50 ° 25 '57.41 "  N , 8 ° 43' 52.84"  O