Neuburg Abbey

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Neuburg Abbey (2013)

The Neuburg Abbey ( Abbey of St. Bartholomew ) near Heidelberg , also known as Neuburg Abbey and Neuburg Monastery , is a Benedictine monastery and belongs to the Beuron congregation . The complex was built in the 12th century as a Benedictine monastery, but was converted into a Benedictine monastery at the end of the century . In the 14th and 15th centuries, it also belonged to the Cistercian Order , and the convent was closed in 1562. After various spiritual and secular uses of the complex by the Palatinate electors , there was a Jesuit from 1709 to 1772 - and then a Lazarist monastery . After secularization , the area came into private ownership in 1804. In the decades that followed, the former abbey was repeatedly a meeting point for important personalities from social and cultural life in the 19th century; At the beginning of the 20th century, Neuburg then gained some importance as a meeting place for the neo-romantics of the George Circle . In 1926 the area was sold again to the Benedictine order, who established the abbey that still exists today.

location

The Neuburg Abbey is located in the west of the Ziegelhausen district of Heidelberg in the direction of the Neuenheim district and above the northern bank of the Neckar on the southern slope of the Köpfl mountain. The Mausbach flows into the Neckar in the immediate vicinity of the abbey .

history

Stift Neuburg by Matthäus Merian 1645, of Schlierbach seen from

Monastery until 1773

The Neuburg Abbey goes back to a castle that was built in the 11th or 12th century over the mouth of the Mausbach. Around 1130, the noble free Anselm founded a monastery ("cella") in the area of ​​this castle, which in the early years did not have a fixed rule of the order . Only when it came into the possession of the Lorsch Monastery in 1165 did the abbey become part of the Benedictine order . In 1195 it was converted into a Benedictine monastery on the initiative of Konrad von Staufen , the first Count Palatine near the Rhine . With the dissolution of the Lorsch mother monastery in 1232, its rights were initially transferred to the diocese of Mainz and later to the diocese of Worms . Since the reform efforts from Cîteaux were attached there, the conversion into a Cistercian abbey took place with the cooperation of the nearby monastery of Schönau , which is documented for the first time in 1303.

Around 1460 the monastery came under the influence of the Elector Frederick I to the Benedictine Observance back. In the 16th century the nuns joined the Reformation and left the monastery. After the death of the abbess Brigitta von Pfalz-Simmern , it was officially dissolved in 1562. In the period that followed, the Count Palatine used the facility in various ways. In 1598 Frederick IV gave it to his wife Luise Juliana von Oranien-Nassau as a pleasure house . In 1672, Karl I Ludwig founded a noble fräuleinstift in the former Neuburg monastery, but it only lasted for a short time. After the War of the Palatinate Succession , the buildings were used as a poor house and as a factory .

In 1706, Elector Johann Wilhelm transferred the monastery grounds to the Jesuits , in whose hands it remained until the order was banned by the Pope in 1773. Then there was a settlement of the Lazarists there . Finally, following the secularization in 1804 , the area passed into private ownership and the monastery church was profaned .

Privately owned

Neuburg Abbey and the Neckar Valley , oil on canvas, around 1830, by Ernst Fries in the Kurpfälzisches Museum
Neuburg Abbey around 1840,
view from Schlierbacher Landstrasse

In 1825, the Imperial Councilor Johann Friedrich Heinrich Schlosser (1780–1851) and his wife Sophie Charlotte du Fay , both from well-respected Frankfurt families, acquired the property as a summer residence. The buyer's uncle was Johann Georg Schlosser (1739–1799), the husband of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's sister Cornelia Schlosser geb. Goethe (1750–1777). The buyer himself was a writer and private scholar as well as a friend of Goethe. Therefore a real Goethe cult arose in the former monastery complex. Letters, manuscripts, first editions and everything else that was connected with Goethe's life were collected here. Marianne von Willemer , for example, was a long and frequent guest there. The former monastery thus became the center of Heidelberg romanticism. Only Goethe himself was never here. After the death of Johann Friedrich Heinrich Schlossers in 1851 or after the death of his wife Sophie Charlotte, the related family of Bernus inherited the property, first Friedrich Alexander von Bernus (1838–1908) and then his adoptive son Alexander von Bernus (1880–1965). All carried on the tradition and preserved and increased the holdings of the collections. The von Bernus family owned the facility until 1926. Well-known personalities were guests in the bourgeois salons of the respective owners, including Carl Maria von Weber , Joseph Görres , the Baron vom Stein , Johannes Brahms , Joseph von Eichendorff , Clemens Brentano , Rudolf Steiner , Hermann Hesse , Stefan George , Rainer Maria Rilke and Klaus Mann .

The monastery was founded in 1926

The rose garden with a view of the Neckar

Since 1926 the property has belonged to the Benedictine order again. Neuburg was sold to the Benedictines of the Archabbey of Beuron by the Alexander Freiherr von Bernus family , who had owned it since 1886 . The Beuroners with Archabbot Raphael Walzer returned the monastery to monastic purposes. The first abbot from 1929 to 1934 was Adalbert von Neipperg , who was tortured to death in 1948 in Werschetz (Yugoslavia, today Serbia) after caring for wounded prisoners of war in the camp. The Bishop of Speyer, Ludwig Sebastian , celebrated his golden jubilee as a priest here on August 15, 1937, when the NSDAP had mobilized around 40,000 SA men to stage a riot-like protest march in Speyer. Bishop Sebastian, however, had left in secret and celebrated his special day in the Neuburg Abbey. The SA men had appeared in vain. After the Second World War , the facility was extensively renovated. 1964 to 1966 Raphael Walzer lived again in Neuburg, where he also died.

On July 14, 2011, the redesign of the monastery church according to the plans of the architect Christian Taufenbach was awarded the Hugo Häring Award 2011 by the Baden-Württemberg State Association in the Association of German Architects . The architect conceived the church as a “restrained carrier” for the event, as a house that is only “complete with the event”.

In 2015, 15 monks lived in Neuburg Abbey, in 2017 there were 11. In addition to their liturgical and pastoral duties, they concentrate on looking after guests. This task of the Benedictine monks is increasingly emphasized with lectures and retreats. The monastery tours through the castle complex and parts of the closed area are also popular. The monastery intends to expand the monastery into a meeting place for science and art.

The legal owner of the monastery is the Association of Benedictine Abbey Neuburg eV This association is non-profit and the owner of the properties that comprise the monastery and the surrounding meadows and forests. The Klosterhof Neuburg GmbH & Co. KG, together with the Gasthaus zum Klosterhof GmbH and the Klosterhof Verwaltung GmbH, have been tenants of the monastic operations since 2007 and have no other legal relationship with the Association of Benedictine Abbey Neuburg e. V. The aim of the lease is "management in the sense of a sustainable, ecologically oriented overall concept, supplemented by forestry, gastronomic and training-active elements", and includes agriculture including inventory, the gastronomic and training area, the monastery shop, the shops and other areas of the nursery . A legal dispute was conducted about the dissolution of the lease, which was decided in favor of the abbey in December with the rejection of the tenant's application by the BGH. The Brauerei zum Klosterhof GmbH is another independent company and is leased separately.

On September 21, 2018 Abbot Winfried Schwab OSB was released from his duties as Abbot by Abbot President Albert Schmidt OSB from Beuron. Abbot Winfried Schwab OSB is said not to have involved the responsible committees in important decisions. Against this decision, Abbot Winfried Schwab applied to the responsible church authorities for an independent review. The Holy See rejected Abbot Winfried Schwab's complaint on January 28, 2019. Schwab waived further instances; In April 2020, Father Benedikt Pahl was elected Conventual Prior for six years.

Monastery church

Church interior

Window in the nave

The church is designed to be simple in order to distract as little as possible from what is happening in the church. It is a continuously open space with no separate areas for priests, monks and the other believers. This is made clear by a continuous floor made of Douglas fir wood from the Heidelberg city forest. The windows in the choir were designed by Valentin Peter Feuerstein in the 1960s. The Christ window in the middle is flanked by the Mary window on the left and the Benedictine window on the right. The artist Maria Theresia von Fürstenberg designed the windows in the nave, which are striking due to their large fields of color. They create a very special light impression in the church. The sheathing of the altar and the ambo are made of corten steel.

On the left is the newly designed sacrament chapel, through which you can see the former Johanneskapelle; this is the oldest part of the monastery and dates from the 14th century. There is a statue of the Virgin Mary from the 15th century and a figure of Pope Gregory the Great from the 13th century. St. Bartholomew , the patron saint of the church and monastery, is depicted in a historical stained glass window .

On the north wall of the nave is the grave slab of Abbess Katharina von der Pfalz, who died in 1526 .

organ

The organ on the gallery above the entrance area was built in 1962 by the organ builder Johannes Klais (Bonn). The instrument has 34 registers on three manuals and a pedal . The Spieltrakturen are mechanically, the Registertrakturen electrically. The housing is suspended in the roof structure with a steel structure.

Organ monastery church
I Rückpositiv C – g 3
1. Wooden dacked 8th'
2. Principal 4 ′
3. Reed flute 4 ′
4th Nasard 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
5. Forest flute 2 ′
6th third 1 3 ⁄ 5  ′
7th Flageolet 1'
8th. Acuta IV 2 ⁄ 3 ′
9. Dulcian 16 ′
Tremulant
II Hauptwerk C – g 3
10. Quintad 16 ′
11. Principal 8th'
12. Gemshorn 8th'
13. Octav 4 ′
14th Capstan flute 4 ′
15th Fifth 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
16. Super octave 2 ′
17th Mixture IV 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
18th Cymbel III 1 ⁄ 2 ′
19th Trumpet 8th'
III Oberwerk C – g 3
20th Salicet 8th'
21st Tube bare 8th'
22nd recorder 4 ′
23. Principal 2 ′
24. Larigot 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
25th Cornett IV 4 ′
26th Scharff III-IV 1'
27. Hautbois 8th'
Tremulant
Pedals C – f 1
28. Principal 16 ′
29 Sub bass 16 ′
30th Octav 8th'
31. Beard pipe 8th'
32. Chorale flute 4 ′
33. Back set IV 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
34. trombone 16 ′
  • Coupling : I / II, III / II (also as sub-octave coupling), I / P, II / P, III / P

Gardening and ivy collection

The historic cloister nursery, which was run by the cloister as a horticultural company until 2005, is located on a terrace above the monastery. The large greenhouse, made of red sandstone, dates from the second half of the 18th century and had a sloping glass facade with a so-called sun trap. It was converted into the abbey guest house in 1947–1950. Since 1963, master gardener brother Ingobert Heieck OSB (1936–1993) has been in charge of the nursery. From 1960 to 1990 the main focus was on the production of ivy jungle plants . Brother Ingobert became a leading ivy specialist and built up a collection of around 530 varieties of ivy. He also selected new varieties and published specialist literature on ivy. The mother plants were cultivated in a heatable glass house. The German Ivy Society e. V. was founded on June 12, 1993 at his instigation with the participation of master gardener Robert Krebs in the abbey. The company took care of the collection after Brother Ingobert's death, but eventually had to give it up. In 2016, 300 varieties were relocated to the garden of Roggenburg Abbey through the mediation of the horticultural company Dehner and arranged as a labyrinth.

Abbots (after 1926)

literature

Introductions and overviews

Special works on Neuburg Abbey

  • Norbert Bosslet: Benedictine Abbey Stift Neuburg . Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg 2000. ISBN 3-7954-6247-9 .
  • Ambrosius Leidinger OSB, Peter Stadler: Those who look out for God. Benedictine Abbey of Neuburg Monastery. Heidelberg 2013. ISBN 978-3-00-043072-5
  • Benedikt Pahl: Abbot Adalbert Graf von Neipperg (1890–1948) and the founding and development history of the Benedictine Abbey in Neuburg near Heidelberg until 1949 . Aschendorff, Münster 1997. ISBN 3-402-03980-X .

Web links

Commons : Stift Neuburg (Heidelberg)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Architecture prize for Christian Taufenbach ( Memento from September 6, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ). Website of the Community of Catholic Men and Women. Retrieved July 16, 2011.
  2. ↑ Concept and pictures for the redesign . Website of the competitionline Verlagsgesellschaft mbH. Retrieved July 16, 2011.
  3. ^ "Our view" , website of the Benedictine Abbey of Neuburg Monastery, accessed on August 22, 2017
  4. ^ "Klosterhof tenants lose in the last instance" website of the Rhein-Neckar Zeitung, accessed on January 21, 2018
  5. ↑ Press release September 22, 2018 . In: Stift Neuburg . September 22, 2018 ( stift-neuburg.de [accessed October 1, 2018]).
  6. ^ Message from Abbot Winfried , accessed on October 4, 2017
  7. ^ Stift Neuburg: press release. In: https://www.stift-neuburg.de/2019/02/06/pressemitteilung-vom-03-02-2019/ . Neuburg Abbey, March 2, 2020, accessed on February 10, 2020 .
  8. ↑ a b Heidelberg: Stift Neuburg has new superiors. Retrieved April 15, 2020 .
  9. ↑ Leaflet "The Monastery Church of the Benedictine Abbey of Neuburg"
  10. ↑ More information about the organ
  11. ↑ Article about the founding of the German Efeugesellschaft eV website of the society. Retrieved September 15, 2012 ( Memento from January 13, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  12. ^ The collection on the Ivy Society's homepage , accessed on September 23, 2016
  13. ↑ Augsburger Allgemeine of July 21, 2016 on the relocation of the ivy collection , accessed on September 23, 2016
  14. ↑ a b "Winfried Schwab becomes the new abbot of Neuburg Abbey" , Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung , October 6, 2015
  15. ↑ Press release of the Benedictine Abbey of Neuburg Abbey; The next bang - Abt deposed (Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung, September 24, 2018)

Coordinates: 49 ° 25 ′ 8 ″  N , 8 ° 44 ′ 27 ″  E