Urach Abbey

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Inner courtyard of Urach Abbey

Urach Abbey was founded in the late 15th century by Count Eberhard V von Württemberg as a monastic community for the brothers from living together in his residence town of Urach . Together with the collegiate church of St. Amandus, the buildings form a monastic ensemble. Urach Abbey has been the retreat of the Evangelical Church in Württemberg in Bad Urach since 1980 .

history

Four historical phases characterize the monastery, which is now over 500 years old:

Pen of the Brothers of Life Together: 1477–1514

Count Eberhard V. von Württemberg, called Eberhard im Bart, brought the late medieval brotherhood Brothers of the Common Life of Devotio moderna , which originally came from the Netherlands and had a branch in Butzbach in Hesse, to his residence in Urach. He had the monastery attached to the Amandus Church, which was already under renovation, built for them by his court architect Peter von Koblenz . The monastic community of the canons of clergy, nobles and commoners engaged in theological studies and the production of books, taught at the neighboring Latin school and worked as a diaconal in the local hospital. In their combination of late scholastic theology, regular choral prayer and educational and charitable work, they linked the medieval classes and became a forerunner of the Württemberg Reformation. Because of the large number of visitors, the brother houses in Dettingen an der Erms , Tübingen and Herrenberg were founded in Urach . The provost of Gabriel Biel Abbey was the Duke's confidante and one of the first professors at the University of Tübingen, founded in 1477 . With the Tübingen Treaty of 1514, the time of the brothers came to an end before the Reformation was introduced in Württemberg.

Slavic Biblical Printing Institute: 1560–1566

Monument to Primus Truber in the courtyard of the Urach monastery
Memorial plaque for Stephan Konsul and Anton Dalmata in Urach Abbey

After the introduction of the Reformation in the Duchy of Württemberg , the Slovenian reformer and pastor Primož Trubar (German: Primus Truber) moved into the monastery at the behest of Duke Christoph von Württemberg and founded the monastery with the support of the noble Hans Ungnad von Sonegg, who was also the previous governor der Steiermark , a printing company for Slovenian and Croatian Bibles, catechisms and hymn books. Through his translations he became the founder of the Slovene literary language and a reformer of Slovenia. Truber made the Croatian translations with the help of Stephan Konsul and Anton Dalmata. 30,000 copies of these works were printed in Urach during these six years. In the inner courtyard there is a monument to Primož Trubar (Kurt Grabert, 1986).

Seat of the "Urach linen trade company": 1599–1793

After Duke Friedrich I of Württemberg had granted the citizens of Urach the privilege of manufacturing and worldwide marketing of linen and had the Urach weaver suburb built by his master builder Heinrich Schickhardt , the monastery became the location for the office and warehouse of the linen weavers.

Evangelical theological seminary: 1818–1977

In the course of the new humanist reorganization of the Württemberg education system with its former monastery schools, one of the now four evangelical-theological seminars was set up in Urach Abbey , together with Schöntal an der Jagst, Maulbronn and Blaubeuren. The seminarians first spent the last four years in Urach, then from 1874 the last two years of their high school years before graduation. From 1969 onwards, female seminarians were also accepted. The main focus of the curriculum was classical philology, theology, literature and music. The Urach seminar had to be closed in 1977 as part of the reform of the upper school. According to the foundation, the seminarians became pastors and teachers in Württemberg, but also humanities and natural scientists, historians, lawyers, doctors, poets and musicians. Well-known Urach seminarians were:

Regional church retreat since 1980

Today there is a regional church retreat in the Urach Abbey. Today the monastery is a conference center with its own subject areas with a focus on biblical-theological education, meditation, silence and pastoral care. It can also be booked for guest groups and meetings. The house has 29 double rooms and 23 single rooms, as well as 9 seminar and conference rooms for 8 to 130 people. A regionally oriented kitchen caters for the guests. The guests have the opportunity to participate in the regular three daily prayers in the house chapel.

literature

  • Brecht, Martin: "Modern Piety" and "Living Together". The Urach Brethren House and its history, in: Blätter für Württembergische Kirchengeschichte (BWKG), No. 78, 1978, pp. 5–23.
  • Schulze, Manfred: The brothers of common life in Urach, in: Schmid, Friedrich (ed.): The Amandus Church in Bad Urach, Sigmaringen 1990, ISBN 3-7995-4149-7 , pp. 9-16.
  • Röhm, Walter: Bad Urach, a city guide through art and history. Bad Urach 1977.
  • The Wuerttemberg monastery schools and seminars: The Protestant Theological Seminar Urach 1818–1977, with contributions by Albrecht Goes and Theo Sorg, ed. v. Association for Wuerttemberg Church History in cooperation with the State Church Archive Stuttgart and the State Church Museum, Metzingen 1991 ISBN 978-3-7722-0245-2 .
  • Bloedt, Dieter A .; Ehmer, Hermann; Schöllkopf, Wolfgang: Uracher Köpfe (Uracher Geschichtsblätter 2), Bad Urach 2009, ISBN 978-3-923107-49-0 .
  • Wolfgang Schöllkopf (ed.): Urach Abbey - Living together in the past and present. Ulm 2013, ISBN 978-3-88294-446-4 .

Web links

Commons : Stift Urach  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 48 ° 29 '36 "  N , 9 ° 23' 47.9"  E