Metten Monastery

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The Abbey Church of St. Michael

The Metten Monastery is a Benedictine abbey ( Abbey of St. Michael the Archangel ) in Metten in Lower Bavaria . It is located in the diocese of Regensburg and has been part of the Bavarian Benedictine Congregation since 1858 .

Metten is located between the foothills of the Bavarian Forest and the Danube Valley , near Deggendorf . The monastery operates a grammar school with boarding school as well as various craft businesses (e.g. laundry, bookbinding, power station, carpenter's shop, locksmith's shop, monastery gardening, publishing house).

history

Engraving of the monastery from the " Churbaierischen Atlas " by Anton Wilhelm Ertl , 1687

Metten Abbey is one of the original Bavarian monasteries. It was founded around the year 766 by the noble Gamelbert , priest and landlord in the nearby Michaelsbuch . The Agilolfinger Duke Tassilo III was probably also responsible for the foundation of the monastery . involved. It is usually assumed that the first monks came from Reichenau Monastery , but this assumption cannot be proven with certainty. The first abbot of the monastery was Utto , a relative of Gamelbert. The later emperor Charlemagne , whom the later legend stylized the founder of the monastery, granted Metten monastery royal protection and immunity in 792. He also increased the property of the monastery. The ownership and rights of the monastery were confirmed in 837 by Emperor Ludwig the Pious . His son, King Ludwig the German , guaranteed the monastery the privilege of freely electing abbots in 850. The task of the monks of Metten Monastery was to colonize the Bavarian Forest from the start .

The Metten Monastery was less affected by the Hungarian storms of the 10th century than the neighboring Niederaltaich Abbey , but canons (secular priests living in community) replaced the monks during this time . In 1157, the canons were transferred by Duke Heinrich II (Jasomirgott) to Pfaffenmünster Monastery near Straubing and Metten Monastery was repopulated with Benedictines from the Hirsau Observance . After the Babenbergs died out in 1246, the Benedictine abbey unsuccessfully tried to achieve imperial immediacy ; Finally, the Vogteirechte fell over the monastery to the Bavarian Wittelsbacher . Metten became a rural prelate monastery . In addition to the clearing work in the Bavarian border region, the monks now devoted themselves increasingly to education and teaching. At the Council of Basel in 1439, Abbot Andreas obtained the right to use the pontificals for himself and his successors . In the late Middle Ages, the monastery was under the influence of the Kastler and Melker reform .

After the turmoil of the Reformation era, the abbot John II Nablas, who was appointed to Metten from the Abbey of St. Emmeram ( Regensburg ) , placed the monastery on a solid spiritual and economic basis. In the 18th century, Metten monks not only worked as teachers at the monastery music school, but were also members of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences in Munich and professors of philosophy and theology in Freising and Salzburg. With the secularization of 1803 the monastery property was confiscated and gradually auctioned off over the following years.

Metten Monastery in the 19th century (steel engraving from: The Kingdom of Bavaria. Its Memories and Beauties, Munich, 1879/1881)

Johann von Pronath , lord of the castle in nearby Offenberg , acquired most of the former monastery over the years and achieved that the monastery was rebuilt by King Ludwig I on June 1, 1830 as the first Benedictine monastery after secularization. After the difficult and arduous years of the new beginning, Metten was raised to the status of an abbey again in 1840. From the Latin school established in 1837, a grammar school with boarding school developed in 1847. The Scheyern Monastery was rebuilt from Metten in 1838, the Weltenburg Monastery in 1842, the Andechs Monastery in 1846 and the St. Boniface Abbey in Munich in 1850 . The Niederaltaich monastery was also rebuilt in 1918 from Metten.

In 1846 Father Bonifaz Wimmer OSB from Metten went to North America to devote himself to pastoral care among the Catholic German immigrants. Here he founded the first Benedictine monastery in the United States of America (USA) with the St. Vincent Abbey .

The Metten Abbey began re-establishing the Bavarian Benedictine Congregation in 1858 , although the old monastery had always refused to join the congregation before the secularization in 1803 out of consideration for the Bishop of Regensburg . The abbot of Metten, Utto Lang , was elected first president of the congregation (1858–1870).

Arts and Culture

St. Michael Abbey Church

Ceiling fresco
View through the nave to the choir
organ

The building from the Carolingian era was followed by a Gothic hall church in the 15th century . The choir has been preserved from her . From 1712 to 1729 the church was redesigned in Baroque style under Abbot Roman II. Märkl according to plans by Jakob Ruesch. The long Gothic choir has been shortened by moving the main altar to the center of the room. The sacristy and the monks' choir above found space behind the altar wall. The nave was widened and converted into a four-bay wall pillar hall . A semicircular porch with an entrance hall and an organ gallery above it was built between the two onion domes in the west. The porch, which closes with a semi-dome, is flanked by two oval chapels. The west portal from 1724 bears the coat of arms of the monastery and the abbot Roman II.

The interior was fitted with stucco in 1722 by Franz Josef Holzinger . The frescoes by Wolfgang Andreas Heindl show the founding of the monastery in the vestibule, Totila's encounter with Benedict of Nursia in the nave and Christ in the choir before he was sent to the work of salvation. The high altar by Jakob Schöpf from 1713 has a painting by Cosmas Damian Asam showing the Archangel Michael (around 1715). The picture of the rosary altar (around 1726–1730) also comes from Asam. The picture of the Benedictus altar was created by the Munich court painter Christian Wink (1778), who also worked on behalf of the monastery in the neighboring churches in Loh and Rettenbach . The pictures of the other altars are by the Regensburg painter Martin Speer (crucifixion, stoning of Stephen, martyrdom of Sebastian, handing over of the keys to Peter). The pulpit probably comes from Franz Josef Holzinger (around 1725).

The five church bells were cast by the Rudolf Oberascher foundry in Munich in 1948. The large Michael Bell is in the north tower, the four smaller ones in the south tower. Because the big bell came out of the cast half a tone too high, the unusual tone sequence h ° -cis'-dis'-eis'-gis' results.

organ

The organ of the abbey church was built in 1989 by the organ building company Sandtner (Dillingen). The purely mechanical instrument has 43 registers on three manuals and a pedal . The prospectus comes from the organ by Johann Konrad Brandenstein from 1726.

I main work C – a 3
1. Bourdon 16 ′
2. Principal 8th'
3. Copula 8th'
4th Viola da gamba 8th'
5. octave 4 ′
6th recorder 4 ′
7th Fifth 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
8th. Super octave 2 ′
9. Mixture V 2 ′
10. Comet V 8th'
11. bassoon 16 ′
12. Trumpets 8th'
13. Clairon 4 ′
II Positive C – a 3
14th Principal 8th'
15th Reed flute 8th'
16. Quintad 8th'
17th octave 4 ′
18th Pointed flute 4 ′
19th Nazard 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
20th Quarte de Nazard 2 ′
21st Tierce 1 3 ⁄ 5  ′
22nd Larigot 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
23. Fittings IV 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
24. Cromorne 8th'
Tremulant
III Recit expressif C – a 3
25th Flauta 8th'
26th Salicional 8th'
27. Voix céleste 8th'
28. Prestant 4 ′
29 Flûte octaviante 4 ′
30th Octavine 2 ′
31. Plein Jeu IV-V 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
32. Cornet III 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
33. Trumpet harm. 8th'
34. Hautbois 8th'
Tremulant
Pedal C – f 1
35. Principal 16 ′
36. Sub-bass 16 ′
37. Fifth 10 2 ⁄ 3  ′
38. Octave bass 8th'
39. Covered bass 8th'
40. Chorale bass 4 ′
41. Back set IV 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
42. trombone 16 ′
43. Trumpet 8th'
  • Couple
    • Normal coupling: II / I, III / I, III / II; I / P, II / P, III / P
    • Super octave coupling: III / P
Inner courtyard of the monastery. Behind the risalit of the ballroom building

Monastery building

The monastery buildings that were built over the centuries enclose several inner courtyards to the north and east of the church.

The oldest part is the square with the cloister on the north side of the church. The simple chapter house is located on the upper floor of the east wing . In 1998, the modern Benedictine Chapel was built into the renovated rooms on the ground floor of the west wing. The decor of the chapel was created by the artist Joseph Michael Neustifter .

In the east of the cloister is the three-winged convent building with the cells of the monks from the early 17th century. It forms a courtyard around the church choir. The second floor was not added until the growing convent needed more space in the 19th century. The refectory , which was redesigned in the 1930s, is located on the ground floor of the north wing . The granite high grave of Blessed Utto from the 14th century was placed in the hall in front of the refectory . The tomb stood in front of the high altar of the monastery church until it was baroque. The famous monastery library is located on the ground floor of the east wing.

To the north of the cloister and convent building, the large cloister courtyard adjoins the entire depth of the building complex. Although its complex dates from the Baroque period, it was only given its present-day representative appearance through new buildings and additions in the 19th century. The east side of the courtyard is the baroque building with the ballroom from the 18th century. The eastern part of the north wing contains the former brewery from the Baroque period. The buildings around the large monastery courtyard now house the monastery’s school and boarding school. In the courtyard is the Charles Fountain with a figure of Charlemagne from the 18th century.

In the north of the large cloister courtyard, the former utility buildings from the 17th century form another courtyard, which is now closed in the east by the school's small gym. To the east of it are the modern new boarding school and the large gym.

Baroque library

The showpiece of the monastery is the baroque monastery library in the east wing of the convent building. The long two-aisled hall from the 17th century was divided into a main room with two flanking side rooms (in a ratio of 2: 3: 2) and lavishly furnished in 1722–1726 under Abbot Roman II. Märkel. As in the monastery church, the stucco comes from Franz Josef Holzinger . The ceiling fresco was created by Innozenz Anton Warathy , with whom Holzinger also worked on furnishing the monastery church in Vornbach .

The entrance portal with the flanking allegories of faith and science, crowning bust of Christ and programmatic inscription interprets the library as a temple of (divine) wisdom. The vaults of the room are supported by impressively designed pairs of atlases in the main room and angels in the adjoining rooms. The ceiling frescoes are based on a theological-dogmatic program that takes a stand against the early Enlightenment: priority of faith, piety and revelation over reason and the secular sciences. At the same time, the fourteen ceiling frescoes are programmatically related to the books (originally) placed underneath: z. B. Evangelists as a reference to biblical texts and biblical commentaries, the four occidental doctors for texts of the church fathers, St. Benedict when writing the rule etc.

See also: Metten Monastery Library .

The library is open for tours. With an estimated holdings of 200,000 volumes from the fields of theology, philology and history, it is one of the largest monastery libraries in Bavaria today.

Ballroom

The baroque ballroom building forms the east wing of the large cloister courtyard. It was built from 1734 by Benedikt Schöttl and his son Brother Albert . Due to a construction interruption due to the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748), the expansion was not completed until 1759. The two-storey ballroom is on the first floor of the central pavilion. The rounding of the east and west walls approximates the floor plan of the hall to the oval shape popular in the late baroque era. Large windows in the east and west ensure that the hall is bright and evenly lit. The rich rococo stucco comes from the Straubing plasterer and sculptor Mathias Obermayr . The ceiling fresco with the beginning of the Last Judgment and allegories of the virtues was created by Martin Speer in 1755 .

In the 19th century the hall was converted into a church for the seminary of the monastery. The original murals were removed and replaced by new religious images in the taste of the time. In addition, a gallery with an organ was installed in the west. The restoration after the Second World War removed the changes made in the 19th century and endeavored to restore the baroque condition as far as possible.

Construction work in the vicinity of the monastery

  • Uttobrunn : 1699/1701 under Abbot Benedikt Ferg construction of the pilgrimage church
  • Loh : 1689 to 1714 under the abbots Benedikt Ferg and Roman Märkl new building of the pilgrimage church to the Holy Cross by Giovanni Antonio Viscardi ; 1768 to 1772 under the abbots Adalbert Tobiaschu and Lambert Kraus splendid redesign of the church interior by the Munich court artists Christian Wink (frescoes and altarpieces) and Franz Xaver Feuchtmayer (stucco and altars).
  • Michaelsbuch : 1727 under Abbot Roman Märkl start of the new baroque building of the parish church (frescoes by Joseph Anton Merz and stucco by Metten lay brother Albert Bärtl); not completed until 1751 after construction was interrupted due to the War of the Austrian Succession (side altars by Joseph Deutschmann and altar leaves by Martin Speer ); 1763/1764 erection of a new high altar by Christian Jorhan the Elder ; The rectory was not completed until 1795 under Abbot Cölestin Stöckl
  • Stephansposching : from 1739 under Abbot Augustinus II. Ostermayer baroque new building of the parish church (demolished in 1891 and replaced by the building that exists today)
  • Rettenbach (Deggendorf) : From 1752 to 1757 under Abbot Adalbert Tobiaschu, the church was rebuilt in baroque style with altars by Joseph Deutschmann and Christian Jorhann and frescoes by Christian Wink.
  • Neuhausen (today part of the community Offenberg ): Baroque tower of the parish church of St. Vitus
  • Himmelberg Castle : 1757 under Abbot Adalbert Tobiaschu new construction of the summer house with the Paulus Chapel on the Himmelberg; Stucco work in the ballroom by Johann Baptist Modler (or another member of the family); Altar in the chapel by Joseph Deutschmann, altarpiece and frescoes by Martin Speer

Campus of the Deggendorf University of Technology from 2017

From 2015, the previously unused Ökonomiehof from 1628 will be rebuilt and expanded. In 2017, an extension of the Deggendorf Technical University , which is five kilometers away , is to be opened in Metten Monastery , which aims to build a campus for 1000 students in the health sector. For reasons of monument protection, the Ökonomiehof has to be renovated anyway.

Abbots of Metten

From the foundation to the end of the Benedictine early days (approx. 766–900)

The later claim of Emperor Charlemagne as the founder and the associated dating of the foundation to the beginning of the 9th century also required a change in the list of abbots. The beginning of the term of office of the first abbot Utto was given with the year 801 and that of his "successor" with the year 829. However, Utto von Metten is already attested in the last third of the 8th century, so mentioned in the list of names of a prayer fraternity, which as Appendix to the canons of the Bavarian Synod of Dingolfing (probably 770), as well as in the Salzburg Fraternization Book (in 784). There are therefore no reliable names and dates for the first successors of Utto as Abbot of Metten from the end of the 8th century to the 30s of the 9th century.

  • Utto , around 770/784 (possibly 766-794)
  • Opportunus (unsure; maybe 794 / 95–809)
  • Tungsten (uncertain; maybe 809-814)
  • Emicho (unsure; maybe 817–829)
  • Nithart (Nidhard), around 837/850 (perhaps 829-853)
  • Wippo I., around 858 (perhaps 853–864)
  • Lantbert (Landperd) or Landpret, around 880 (possibly 865–891)

Period of the commendate abbots and then the canons (900–1157)

Metten Monastery had been given the right to vote freely under Charlemagne. This comes to an end with the transfer Mettens as Coming to the royal chaplain Richer (Ruger) in the year 891; he is followed by a number of other commendatars. In the 11th century the lifestyle of the clergy in Metten no longer corresponded to the ideas of the simultaneous Benedictine monastic reforms, so that tradition speaks of canons taking the place of monks. The names of the monastery rulers handed down for this period (especially after Wippo II) are only partially certain, as the later "Benedictine" house tradition had little interest in them. The assumption that Bishop Gerhard von Passau (932–946) was previously abbot in Metten cannot be reconciled with the list reconstructed from tradition. According to Gebehard, names of monasteries were missing until after the middle of the 12th century.

  • Richer (or Ruger; possibly identical to Richard von Passau ), around 892/893/902 (perhaps 891–899 / 902)
  • Nithart II. (Perhaps 899 / 02–904)
  • Wippo II. (Perhaps 904-913)
  • Adalhard (perhaps 914-935)
  • Walther (perhaps 936-952)
  • Eberhard (maybe 952–976)
  • Hethard (possibly 976-1001)
  • Wolfram II. (Possibly 1002-1039)
  • Gerbert (maybe 1030-1056)
  • Dietmar I. (perhaps 1057-1078)
  • Dietmar II. (Perhaps 1079-1092)
  • Gebehard (perhaps 1092–1109)

From Benedictine repopulation to secularization (1157–1803)

At the instigation of Duke Heinrich XI. Jasomirgott, reforms were carried out in Metten Monastery around the middle of the 12th century; since then, Metten is clearly (again) to be regarded as a Benedictine monastery.

  • Gerbert (also Berbert), around 1178/88 (perhaps 1158–1188)
  • Leopold (possibly 1181–1203)
  • Rudiger (II.), From Niederalteich Monastery (perhaps 1185–1203 / 1225)
  • Frederick I (maybe 1226)
  • Bernold, around 1239/40 (perhaps 1226–1242)
  • Albert I, from the Sankt Emmeram monastery in Regensburg, around 1242–1268; Reconstruction of the monastery that was destroyed by fire (consecration of the monastery church in 1264)
  • Friedrich II. Von Heidenheim, from the Sankt Emmeram monastery in Regensburg, resignation as abbot of Metten in 1274/1275, abbot of Scheyern monastery from 1282–1286
  • Konrad (I.), since 1274/5 (whether Konrad led the Metten Monastery as abbot or only as administrator after the resignation of Abbot Albert I is uncertain)
  • Heinrich Stoero , from Niederalteich Monastery, probably 1280–1287
  • Konrad (II.) Von Auerbach, from Niederalteich Monastery, 1287–1297
  • Ulrich I, from Niederalteich Monastery, 1297–1317 (died in Bologna in 1317)
  • Ulrich II., 1317-1319
  • Albert II. The Egker, 1319–1348
  • Ulrich III. Krotzer von Egk, 1349–1382 (resigned)
  • Altmann von Degenberg , 1382-1388
  • Petrus I , from the Oberalteich monastery , 1388–1427, introduction of the Melker reform in Metten
  • Andreas I , 1427-1435
  • Andreas II, 1435-1446; received the right of pontificals in 1439 from the Council of Basel (later continued in Ferrara and Florence)
  • Petrus II. Vältl , 1446–1459, start of the renovation of the Romanesque monastery church
  • Johannes I. Höpfl, 1459–1479, completion of the Gothic monastery church
  • Pankratius Kammerer, 1479-1495; at the end of his term of office, at the instigation of the bishop of Regensburg, Cyriacus Prucker from Reichenbach am Regen monastery was installed as administrator in Metten and entrusted with the introduction of the Chancellor reform in the monastery (1492); Cyriacus Prucker initially remained administrator of Metten Monastery even after the death of Abbot Pankratius (in 1502 he became abbot of Frauenzell Monastery )
  • Oswald I. Mayr, 1496-1515; possibly studies at the University of Leipzig (1467); the assumption, which goes back to the Mettener Series Abbatum, that another Oswald had presided over the monastery from 1503 until 1515, is historically probably incorrect
  • Wolfgang I. Altmann, 1515-1525
  • Wolfgang II. Häberl, 1526–1535
  • Karl Dorn , 1535–1537
  • Leonhard Artmayr, 1537-1542; after the death of the abbot administration of the monastery by the prior Andreas Althaymer and the monastery judge Maulinger
  • John II Edmayr (Ödmayer), 1544–1548
  • Oswald II. Mayr (Marius), 1548–1569, erection of new farm buildings
  • Sebastian Kastner , from Niederalteich Monastery, 1569–1577; after the abbot's death until 1581 the monastery was administered by various administrators, some of whom were external; spiritual and economic decline of the monastery as a result of the Reformation
  • Markus Besch , from the Sankt Ulrich monastery in Augsburg, 1581–1592; elected to reform the monastery at the instigation of the Bavarian duke; he had been administrator in Mallersdorf Abbey since 1580 (he held this office until 1587); the chronicle of the Metten monastery praises him as a scholar and promoter of science; after the abbot's death until 1593 administration of the Metten monastery by the prior Sebastian Schnell
  • Aegid (Egidius) Hiebl, 1593–1595
  • Andrew III Eckler, from the Tegernsee Monastery , 1595
  • Johannes II. Nablas , from the monastery Sankt Emmeram in Regensburg, 1595–1628; from 1623 also abbot in Sankt Emmeram
  • Johannes Christoph Guetknecht , 1628–1645; During his tenure, the monastery suffered badly from the consequences of the Thirty Years' War (1633 looting of the monastery; 1634 ten conventuals die of the plague; 1641 flight of abbot and convent, renewed devastation of the monastery)
  • Maurus Lauter , 1645–1650 (resigned)
  • Augustin I. Gerlstötter , 1651-1658; died in Aldersbach monastery and buried there
  • Johannes Jakob Schleich , 1658–1668
  • Roman I. Schäffler , 1668–1686
  • Benedikt I. Ferg , 1686–1706
  • Roman II. Märkl , 1706–1729 (resigned; † 1744); baroque reconstruction of the monastery church and library; Installation of Series abbatum of Metten for the period 1650-1744
  • Benedict II Höld , 1729–1730
  • Augustine II. Ostermayer , 1730–1742; Builder of the east wing of the large cloister courtyard with the ballroom; died on the run from the Pandours in Stephansposching; after the abbot's death until 1744 administration by the prior Maurus Däxner
  • Columban Gigl , 1744-1752
  • Adalbert Tobiaschu , 1752–1770 (resigned; † 1771); Completion of work on the cloister's ballroom
  • Lambert Kraus , 1770-1790; The cultivation of music in the monastery flourished, but at the same time the monastery was in debt due to high taxes and the abbot's less careful management
  • Cölestin Stöckl , 1790–1803; last abbot of the monastery before secularization († 1807); Skilled economist who managed to reduce the debts left by his predecessor and to rehabilitate the monastery economy (expansion of the brewery); his efforts were thwarted by the abolition of the monastery

Priors after the rebuilding in 1830

  • Ildephons Nebauer, 1830–1836 (professed in 1788 in Andechs Monastery )
  • Rupert Leiß, 1837–1838 (provost in 1838 and first abbot of the rebuilt Scheyern Monastery from 1843 )
  • Gregor Scherr , 1838-1840; from 1840 first abbot after the re-establishment

Abbots since 1840

Abbot Wolfgang Maria Hagl, abbot since 1989

St. Michaels high school of the Benedictine Metten

School history and profile

In addition to clearing and colonization, the Metten monks also devoted themselves to education and teaching from the start. Until the secularization (1803) there was a seminar for choir boys in the monastery . When it was rebuilt in 1830, King Ludwig I commissioned the monastery to set up a Latin school. With the school year 1831/32 two classes for Latin lessons were established, in 1834 a third class followed. As early as 1835, however, the school was closed again by the Bavarian Ministry of Culture, because the teachers under the Metten conventuals were to be assigned to the school of the St. Stephan Abbey in Augsburg , which was planned as the central monastery .

In autumn 1837 the school in Metten was able to reopen as a Latin school. From this a high school developed in the following years (since the school year 1847/48) with an attached boarding school. In the school year 1839/40, a second seminar was opened in addition to the existing seminar, in which children of less well-off parents were to be taught for a lower pension benefit. New problems arose when in 1840 the Metten monks had to take over the royal educational institute Hollandeum in Munich on the orders of the Bavarian king and in 1842 the associated Ludwigsgymnasium ; the necessary staff was now lacking in Metten. Nevertheless, the construction of the school in Metten continued. In autumn 1844, at the request of Regensburg Bishop Valentin Riedel, an episcopal boys' seminar was added to the young Latin school to train future diocesan priests (a so-called " small seminar "). The first school leaving examination (Abitur) in Metten took place in 1851. In the same year, the grammar school received permission to introduce classes in the natural sciences. To this end, the establishment of an extensive scientific and physical collection has begun. Since 1869, the Mettener Gymnasium as a church institution was heavily burdened by the Kulturkampf . In 1891, in addition to the already existing seminars, a special seminary for the order ("Scholastikat") was set up for the training and advancement of young people for the monastery.

By order of the National Socialist rulers, the grammar school was not allowed to accept any new students for the school year 1938/39. On March 31, 1939, the high school had to be closed by order of the state. After the end of the Second World War, the grammar school and boarding school could already be reopened on March 21, 1946 (now without the episcopal boys' seminar and without its own religious seminary).

Since 1969 girls have also been attending the now humanistic - modern language grammar school. The St. Michaels Gymnasium is now a state-recognized school and a member of the "Catholic Schools in Bavaria" founded in 1982. Since 1877, in addition to the monks of the abbey, secular teachers have also taught at St. Michaels Gymnasium.

Language sequence: Latin (from the 5th grade) - English (from the 6th grade) - Greek / French (from the 8th grade) From the school year 2010/11 there will also be a scientific branch in Metten from the 8th grade. This means that the school can now call itself a humanistic, modern language and natural science high school.

In order to maintain contact with the former pupils (Altmettenerinnen and Altmettener), the monastery has been publishing the in-house magazine “Alt und Jung Metten” since the school year 1926/27, which is currently published in two issues per year.

The grammar school has been one of the venues for the German Student Academy since 2003 .

In March 2010 the media reported that sexual abuse of students by clergy teachers had also occurred at the Metten monastery school, some of the cases dating back decades. The abbot of the monastery said: "We have no statute of limitations for injustices that have happened to students."

Rectors and directors of the grammar school

  • P. Dr. Willibald Freymüller OSB, 1848–1871
  • P. Matthäus Lipp OSB, 1871-1891
  • P. Godehard Geiger OSB, 1891-1918
  • P. Leander Schönberger OSB, 1918-1939
  • P. Willibald Weber OSB, 1946–1963
  • P. Dr. Anselm Wimmer OSB, 1963–1980
  • P. Rupert Fischer OSB, 1980-2001
  • Walter Matl, 2001-2005
  • P. Erhard Hinrainer OSB, since 2005

Personalities from monastery and school

Metten Monastery Church
  • Innocenz Deixlberger OSB (1701–1776), monk of the abbey; Theologian and philosopher at the University of Salzburg
  • Lambert Kraus OSB (1728-1790), Abbot of Metten; important composer
  • Leonhard Gruber (Abbé Gruber), was initially as a monk of the abbey professor of philosophy in Metten and Salzburg; Study of astronomy; 1769/70 resigned from the monastery and became world priest; thereafter, among other things, work as a teacher in Vienna
  • Amand Steigenberger OSB (1741–1808), monk of the abbey; Music director in the monastery and composer
  • Gregor Geyer OSB (1742–1772), monk of the abbey; Editor of the documents of the Metten Monastery and the Reichenbach Monastery in the Monumenta Boica , member of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences
  • Godehard Kufner OSB (1743–1792), monk of the abbey; Teacher of canon law, mathematics and physics
  • Johann Baptist Sternkopf OSB (1753–1806), monk of the abbey; Music director, organist and composer
  • Johannes Evangelist Elger OSB (1756–1828), monk of the abbey; Pioneer of modern botany in Bavaria, author of Flora Bavarica
  • Anselm Rixner OSB (1766–1838), monk of the abbey until secularization; Theologian and philosopher
  • Maurus Gandershofer OSB (1780–1843), monk of the abbey until secularization; Librarian and historian
  • Rupert Leiß OSB (1795–1872), monk of the abbey; Provost (from 1838), first abbot of the rebuilt Scheyern Monastery (from 1842)
  • Benno Johann Josef Müller OSB (1803–1860), before joining Metten (1838) professor of exegesis / biblical studies at the universities of Giessen and Breslau
  • Gregor von Scherr OSB (1804–1877), Abbot of Metten (1840–1856); Archbishop of Munich and Freising (1856–1877)
  • Bonifaz Wimmer OSB (1809–1887), monk of the abbey; Founder of the St. Vincent Archabbey in Pennsylvania (USA)
  • Lucas Schraudolph OSB (1812–1863), monk of the abbey; Painter, brother of the important history painters Johann and Claudius Schraudolph
  • Rupert Mittermüller OSB (1814–1893), monk of the abbey; Historian, author of a history of the Metten Monastery, teacher at the grammar school
  • Thomas Bauer OSB (1821-1893), monk of the abbey; Student at the Collegium Germanicum in Rome; before his entry professor of moral theology and dogmatics in Passau
  • Utto Kornmüller OSB (1824–1907), monk of the abbey; Composer and important exponent of Cecilianism
  • Antonius von Thoma (1829–1897), high school student (Abitur 1848 in Freising); Bishop of Passau (1889), Archbishop of Munich and Freising (1889–1897)
  • Josef Schlicht (1832–1917), high school student; Author of Bayerisch Land and Bayerisch Volk , one of the fathers of Bavarian folklore
  • Maximilian Schmidt called Waldschmidt (1832-1919), student at the grammar school (then at the grammar school in Passau and at the technical school in Hof); important Bavarian native writer
  • Martin Mauermayr (1833–1907), high school graduation; Mayor of Freising (1869–1899)
  • Joseph Lukas (1834–1878), high school student; Catholic priest, member of the Customs Parliament and the Bavarian State Parliament
  • Andreas Niedermayer (1835–1872), high school student; Founder of the Catholic journeyman's association in Frankfurt a. M., administrator of the Teutonic Order in Frankfurt-Sachsenhausen, writer and historian
  • Georg Dengler (1839–1896), high school student; Cathedral vicar in Regensburg and art advisor to the diocese
  • Michael Haller (1840–1915), high school student; Church musician and composer
  • Edmund Schmidt OSB (1844–1916), monk of the abbey; Founder of modern critical research on the Rule of Benedict, pupil and teacher at high school
  • Leo Mergel OSB (1847-1932), Abbot of Metten (1898-1905); Bishop of Eichstätt (1905–1932)
  • Johann Thaler (1847–1920), high school student, member of the German Reichstag (1903–1912)
  • Maurus Weingart OSB (1851–1924), monk of the abbey; Conventual Prior (from 1903), first abbot of the rebuilt Weltenburg Monastery (from 1913)
  • Beda Adlhoch OSB (1854–1910), monk of the monastery and student at the grammar school; Professor of Philosophy in Rome
  • Joseph Auer (1855–1911), high school student; composer
  • Ludwig Kandler (1856–1927), high school student (Abitur 1873); Portrait and history painter
  • Michael Doeberl (1861–1928), high school student (until 1880); Professor of History at the University of Munich
  • Benno Linderbauer OSB (1863–1928), monk of the abbey; leading expert on the text history of the Rule of Benedict, teacher at the grammar school
  • Franz Xaver Glasschröder (1864–1933), high school student; Historian and archivist
  • Franz Seraphim Lederer (1866–1939), high school student; Member of the German Reichstag (1913–1918) and the Bavarian State Parliament (1920–1932)
  • Philipp Bayer (1868–1902), high school student (1881–1887); Member of the German Reichstag (from 1898)
  • Franz Xaver Kiefl (1869–1928), high school student (Abitur 1889); Professor of Dogmatics and Rector at the University of Würzburg , Cathedral Dean in Regensburg
  • Ferdinand Schedlbauer (1869–1952), high school student; Member of the German Reichstag (1912–1918)
  • Bonifaz Rauch OSB (1873–1949), monk of the abbey, classical philologist, professor, writer
  • Sebastian Schlittenbauer (1874–1936), high school student (1887–1894, 1895 high school diploma at the new high school in Regensburg); Member of the Reichstag, member of the Bavarian state parliament and director of the Regensburg Central Agricultural Cooperative
  • Eduard Hamm (1879–1944), high school student (high school graduation from Sankt Stephan high school in Augsburg); Bavarian Minister for Trade, Industry and Commerce (1919–1922), State Secretary in the Reich Chancellery (1922/23), Reich Minister of Economics (1923–1925)
  • Aloys Fischer (1880–1937), high school student (Abitur 1899); Professor of Philosophy and Education at the University of Munich
  • Gregor Klier (1880–1955), high school student; Bavarian agricultural politician and director of the Upper Palatinate Christian Farmers 'Association, then of the Upper Palatinate District Association of the Bavarian Farmers' Association
  • Josef Achmann (1885–1958), high school student (Abitur at Realgymnasium in Regensburg); painter
  • Karl Widmaier (1886–1931), high school student (Abitur at the humanistic high school in Wiesbaden); Artist, writer and composer
  • Angelus Sturm OSB (1886–1968), monk of the abbey, teacher at the grammar school; Historian and art historian
  • Johann Baptist Lehner BGR (1890–1971), high school student; Local historian, cathedral vicar and diocesan archivist in Regensburg
  • Alfons Maria Zimmermann OSB (1891–1962), monk of the abbey, pupil and teacher at the grammar school; eminent hagiologist
  • Hugo Lang OSB (1892–1967), high school student (Abitur 1911), honorary professor at the University of Munich, monk and abbot in Sankt Bonifaz (Munich)
  • Vincenz Müller (1894–1961), high school student, German officer in the Wehrmacht and the NVA
  • Wilhelm Fink OSB (1898–1965), monk of the abbey, pupil and teacher at the grammar school; Historian of the Metten Monastery
  • Alois Schmaus (1901–1970), high school student; Professor of Slavic Philology and Balkan Philology at the University of Munich
  • Beda Thum OSB (1901–2000), monk of the abbey; Professor of Philosophy in Rome, Salzburg and Vienna
  • Edmund Beck OSB (1902–1991), monk of the abbey, pupil and teacher at the grammar school; Professor of Biblical Languages ​​in Rome, Expert on Ephraem the Syrian
  • Karl Forster (1904–1963), high school student; Composer and Domkapellmeister at Hedwig's Cathedral in Berlin
  • Johann Maier (1906–1945), high school student; Cathedral preacher in Regensburg, resistance fighter
  • Karl Bosl (1908–1993), high school student (1918–1927); Historian for Bavarian regional history at the University of Munich
  • Ernst Lodermeier (1908–1998), high school student (Abitur in Landshut); Lawyer and banker, holder of the Bavarian Order of Merit
  • Basilius Binder OSB (1910–1947), monk of the abbey; Theologian and professor of apologetics and liturgy in Seitenstetten (1939–1943), professor of morality in Salzburg (1946–1947)
  • Max Ulrich Graf von Drechsel (1911–1944), captain and murdered resistance fighter on July 20, 1944
  • Philipp Held (1911–1993), high school student; Member of the Bavarian State Parliament (1954–1974), Bavarian Minister of Justice (1966–1974)
  • Paul Augustin Mayer OSB (1911–2010), monk and abbot in Metten; Titular Archbishop of Satrianum (1972), Cardinal Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Order of the Sacraments (1985–1988), President of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei (1988–1991)
  • Randolph von Breidbach-Bürresheim (1912–1945), high school student (Abitur 1931 at Maximiliansgymnasium Munich ); Jurist, First Lieutenant dR, member of the German resistance group on July 20, 1944
  • Fritz Goller (1914–1986), high school student; Composer and church musician, holder of the Federal Cross of Merit
  • Herbert Blaha (1918–2002), high school student; well-known thoracic surgeon and lung specialist
  • Adalbert Seipolt OSB (1929–2009), monk of the abbey; High school students and teachers (Greek, German, history), writer
  • Gerhard Pfohl (1929–2016), high school student, Abitur in 1948; Medical historian at the Technical University of Munich
  • Odilo Lechner OSB (1931–2017), high school student (Abitur 1949); 1964–2003 Abbot of St. Boniface in Munich
  • Karl Josef Rauber (born 1934), high school student; papal diplomat, cardinal and nuncio
  • Karl Schlemmer (1937–2013), high school student; Liturgist at the University of Passau (until 2002)
  • Rupert Fischer OSB (1939–2001), monk of the abbey, pupil, teacher and principal at the grammar school; Expert in Gregorian semiology , co-editor of "Contributions to Gregorian Chant" ( AISCGre )
  • Hans Spitzner (born 1943), high school student; Former member of the state parliament, State Secretary in Bavaria
  • Hans Wolfgang Brachinger (1951–2011), high school student; Professor of Economic Statistics and Vice Rector at the University of Friborg (Switzerland)
  • Stephan Haering OSB (born 1959), monk of the abbey, student at the grammar school; Canon lawyer at the University of Munich
  • Franz Rieger (born 1959), high school student; Politician, Member of the Bavarian State Parliament (since 2008)
  • Christoph Goppel, student at the grammar school; Director of the Bavarian Academy for Nature Conservation and Landscape Management in Laufen
  • Waldemar Kindler, high school student; State Police President in Bavaria
  • Markus Willinger (born 1967), high school student; Professor of organ playing at the Nuremberg University of Music, diocesan music director of the Archdiocese of Bamberg
  • Elyas M'Barek , high school student, boarding school resident; Actor (including Fack ju Göhte ; Turkish for beginners )
  • Anton Schmaus , student at the grammar school; cook

Sources and literature

  • Georg Aichinger: Metten Monastery and its surroundings , Landshut 1859. (on Google books )
  • Benedikt Busch: The Metten Abbey in the Third Reich , in: Contributions to the history of the Diocese of Regensburg 15 (1981) 333–362.
  • Georg Dehio - Handbook of German Art Monuments. Bavaria II: Lower Bavaria , edited by Michael Brix , with contributions by Franz Bischoff, Gerhard Hackl and Volker Liedke, Munich / Berlin 1988, 398–405.
  • Wilhelm Fink: History of the development of the Benedictine abbey Metten . Vol. 1: The professorship book of the abbey (studies and communications on the history of the Benedictine order and its branches. Supplementary booklet 1,1), Munich 1927.
  • Wilhelm Fink: History of the development of the Benedictine abbey Metten . Vol. 2: The royal monastery (studies and communications on the history of the Benedictine order and its branches. Supplementary booklet 1,2), Munich 1928.
  • Wilhelm Fink: History of the development of the Benedictine abbey Metten . Vol. 3: The land-based monastery (1275–1803) (studies and communications on the history of the Benedictine order and its branches. Supplementary booklet 1,3), Munich 1930.
  • Wilhelm Fink: The Metten Benedictine Abbey and its relationship to art (Süddeutsche Kunstbücher, vol. 21/22), Augsburg 1922.
  • Maurus Gandershofer: Merits of the Benedictines of Metten in the care of the sciences and the arts. A memory dedicated to the former inhabitants of this monastery , Landshut 1841. (on Google books )
  • Stephan Haering: The dispute about the Metten abbot election in 1905 , in: Anna Egler (ed.): Service to Faith and Law (Festschrift for Georg May on his 80th birthday), Berlin 2006, pp. 105–198.
  • Annual report on the study institute in the Benedictine monastery Metten . Landshut 1848–1891 ( digitized version ) (supplements for the years 1878, 1881–1886, 1888–1889)
  • Annual report of the humanistic grammar school in the Benedictine monastery Metten . Deggendorf 1891–1965 ( digitized version ) (supplements for the years 1893–1894, 1896–1897, 1900, 1902, 1904–1908, 1912)
  • Michael Kaufmann: Chronicle of the Metten Abbey 766–2016 (history of the development of the Metten Benedictine Abbey, vol. 6), Sankt Ottilien 2016. ISBN 978-3830677611
  • Michael Kaufmann: Memento Mori. In memory of the deceased conventuals of the Metten Benedictine Abbey since its rebuilding in 1830 (history of the development of the Metten Benedictine Abbey, vol. 5), Metten 2008.
  • Michael Kaufmann: 150 Years of the Bavarian Benedictine Congregation, Metten , in: Studies and Communications of the Benedictine Order 119 (2008) 302–333.
  • Michael Kaufmann: Vestigia patrum - testimonies to history in the cloister of the Metten monastery , in: Deggendorfer Geschichtsblätter 30 (2008) 87–160.
  • Michael Kaufmann: "Don't say that the earlier times were better ..." (Koh 7:10). Thoughts on the secularization of Metten Abbey two hundred years ago , in: Alt und Jung Metten, vol. 69 (2002/03), Heft 2, 161–171.
  • Michael Kaufmann: The secularization of the Benedictine abbey Metten. The concrete individual case , in: The secularization in Bavaria 1803. Cultural break or modernization? (Journal for Bavarian State History Series B, Issue 23), Munich 2003, 256–271.
  • Michael Kaufmann: Secularization, Desolation and Restoration in the Benedictine Abbey of Metten (1803-1840) (= history of the development of the Benedictine Abbey of Metten, vol. 4), Metten 1993.
  • Michael Kaufmann: Viri iusti sint tibi convivae, The changeful fate of the Metten Rococo Hall, in Old and Young Metten 78 , 2011/12, 24─64; Deggendorfer Geschichtsblätter, publications by the Deggendorfer Geschichtsverein for the Deggendorf district 32/33, 2010/2011, pp. 209-252.
  • Metten Monastery. 1830 Reconstruction in 1980 (special reprint from Old and Young Metten), Metten 1980.
  • Art monuments of Lower Bavaria XVII. District Office Deggendorf , Munich 1927, 142–182.
  • Richard Loibl / Raban Schinabeck (eds.): 1200 years of Metten Abbey , Metten 1966.
  • Rupert Mittermüller: The Metten Monastery and its Aebte. An overview of the history of this old Benedictine monastery , Straubing 1856. (on Google books )
  • Bernhard Ponschab: History of the humanistic high school in the Benedictine monastery Metten (annual report of the humanistic high school Metten / supplement), Metten 1900.
  • Bernhard Ponschab: Investigations into the founding history of the Metten Monastery , in: Studies and communications of the Benedictine Order 25 (1904) 489–501.
  • Friedrich Prinz: The beginnings of the Benedictine abbey Metten , in: Journal for Bavarian State History 25 (1962) 20–32.
  • Karl Schmotz: The Metten monastery church in the Middle Ages. An attempt at reconstruction , in: Deggendorfer Geschichtsblätter 22 (2001), 31–78.
  • Willibald Weber: History of the Gymnasium Metten 1830–1951 (Part 1), in: Alt und Jung Metten, Vol. 60 (1993/94), Issue 1, 14–22 (reprint of an article from 1951).
  • Willibald Weber: History of the Gymnasium Metten 1830–1951 (Part 2), in: Alt und Jung Metten, vol. 60 (1993/94), Heft 2, 162–169 (reprint of an article from 1951).

Web links

Commons : Metten Monastery  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ More information about the organ of the abbey church (PDF; 713 kB)
  2. ↑ pnp.de: University a “quantum leap” for the monastery
  3. ↑ th-deg.de: THD is growing in Metten Monastery: Focus on health. ( Memento from October 6, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  4. ^ Statement by Abbot Wolfgang Hagl
  5. ↑ sueddeutsche.de: Top chef Anton Schmaus

Coordinates: 48 ° 51 '19.3 "  N , 12 ° 55' 4.2"  E