Mechtildis from Bongard

According to previous research, Mechtildis von Bongard (also von Bongart) was abbess of the imperial abbey of Burtscheid near Aachen from September 10, 1352 to August 1, 1356 at the latest . Her exact life dates are not known.

She came from an old noble family and barons, whose origins can be found in the Weisweiler area near Aachen. In 1321 she entered the Burtscheider Cistercian monastery. In September 1352 she was first referred to as abbess when she offered sanctuary to three men suspected of manslaughter in the abbey. In her time the construction of the new abbey church, which her predecessor had initiated, was completed. A few months later and in the same year it is documented that she received a grant of 125 thalers from the city for the construction of the new abbey church. Further documentary mentions of the abbess followed in 1353 as part of a dispute settlement with the rector and pastor of the Church of St. Michael and in 1356 as part of an interrogation of witnesses on her farm in Vijlen .

The anniversary of her death was celebrated on August 16 ; however, the year of her death is not known.

literature

• Heinrich Schnock: Studies on the order of abbots and abbesses in the former glory Burtscheid , in: Zeitschrift des Aachener Geschichtsverein , Vol. 41 (1919) pp. 230–232