Engelberg Monastery
| Engelberg Benedictine Abbey | |
|---|---|
| place | |
| Country | Switzerland |
| Canton | Obwalden |
| Ecclesiastical province | Exemption |
| Church region | Diocese of Chur |
| Community | |
| founding | 1120 |
| Dept | Abbot Christian Meyer OSB |
| Dept. Emeritus | P. Berchtold Müller OSB |
| Monks | 21 (as of December 2017) |
| priest | 13 |
| brothers | 8th |
| Church and Liturgy | |
| Monastery church | Church of Our Lady of Engelberg |
| Patronage | Assumption of Mary (August 15) |
| cartridge | St. Nicholas , St. Leonhard , St. Theodor , St. Eugene |
| rite | Roman rite |
| - | |
| Website | www.kloster-engelberg.ch |
The Engelberg Abbey is a Benedictine monastery in Engelberg in the canton of Obwalden in Switzerland . The monastery was founded by Konrad von Sellenbüren in 1120 and settled with monks from the Muri monastery . The buildings were built after the devastating fire of the monastery in 1729 and are among the largest baroque complexes in Central Switzerland . The largest organ in Switzerland is located in the monastery church .
In its total of eleven companies, which have also included a vineyard on Lake Biel and the Engelberg Abbey School since 2017, Engelberg Abbey employs around 100 secular employees and is Engelberg's second largest employer after the Engelberg-Trübsee-Titlis mountain railways .
history
The medieval monastery was destroyed by fires several times. In addition, the plague and political disputes in the high and late Middle Ages struck the Engelbergertal several times.
In addition to the men's convention, a women's convention was established. However, the historical sources cannot tell whether the two communities were founded jointly or one after the other. The so-called double monastery existed until 1615. On February 18, 1615, the women's convent was relocated to Sarnen , where the Benedictine convent of St. Andreas still exists to this day.
In 1690 the Grafenort mansion was built in the lower Engelberg valley as a recreation house for abbots and monks. Today it is also used by the monastery for conferences and seminars. The monastery in its current form was built between 1730 and 1745.
After the French invaded and the Helvetic Republic was established, the abbot was forced to renounce ownership of the valley in 1798. The former territory of the monastery joined the canton of Nidwalden in 1803 , then in 1815 the canton of Obwalden .
Tourism began in the middle of the 19th century; in the 20th century this became the determining economic factor. With this opening to the outside world, the social influence of the monastery was also pushed back. In 2017 the convention had 21 members.
Establishments of the monastery
A total of eleven monastery companies and their mostly secular employees not only work for the monastery. In addition to the administration, the monastery carpentry, a gardening shop, its own hydroelectric power station in Tagestal and the leased show dairy also belong to it. Since 2005 the monastery business has been run by a secular employee as managing director of the administration. This also includes the cooperation with the 15 agricultural leasing companies as well as the property management of the monastery. The job of the managing director was previously carried out by the large waiter .
Educational institutions of the monastery
During the reign of Abbot Frowin , a writing school and library were established in the 12th century . The Engelberg Abbey School , which belongs to the monastery and has been run by a secular rector for the first time since 2009, has existed since 1851 . He heads both the collegiate school and the boarding school on behalf of the abbot. The Engelberg Abbey School offers a bilingual Matura according to the IB standard.
Organ of the Engelberg monastery
The organ of the Engelberg monastery is considered the largest organ in Switzerland. It goes back to an instrument by Friedrich Goll from the years 1876/77 and is in the collegiate church of the Benedictine monastery Engelberg. After extensions, the instrument now has 137 stops on four manuals and pedal . It should not be confused with the smaller choir organ from 1902 with 26 registers in the same church .
Bell of Engelberg Monastery
A very powerful, seven-part chime sounds from the stately tower of the Engelberg monastery church. The bells almost completely fill the bell chamber. The bells were cast in 1964 by Emil Eschmann in Rickenbach ( Canton Thurgau ). They have the pithy “Eschmann sound” typical of the company. The chimes were matched to the so-called “filled in and expanded minor major motif”, which can be heard from many Swiss towers. The two remaining choir bells and the convent bell are not part of the main chime.
| No. | Surname | Chime | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trinity Bell | G sharp ° | 4810 kg |
| 2 | Cross bell | h ° | 2890 kg |
| 3 | Our Lady Bell | cis' | 2010 kg |
| 4th | Angel bell | dis' | 1430 kg |
| 5 | St. John's Bell | fis' | 840 kg |
| 6th | Apostle bell | g sharp ' | 540 kg |
| 7th | Benedictine bell | H' | 360 kg |
Affiliated monasteries
- Benedictine convent of St. Andreas : Former women's convent of Engelberg convent (until 1615). The abbot of Engelberg is the responsible professor
- Conception Abbey (Missouri): Subsidiary founded in 1873
- Mount Angel Abbey (Oregon): subsidiary founded in the 19th century.
- Melchtal Monastery : The abbot of Engelberg is the competent professor
- Maria-Rickenbach Monastery: The abbot of Engelberg is the responsible professor
- Marienburg Abbey, Wikon: The abbot of Engelberg is the competent professor
- Prieuré de Mont Fébé, Yaoundé, Cameroon: dependent priory. The abbot of Engelberg is also the abbot of Mont Fébé
Abbots of the monastery
Known monks
- Br. Konrad von Sellenbüren († 1126), founder and later monk of Engelberg Monastery
- Abbot Adelhelm († 1131), saint and 1st abbot of the monastery
- Abbot Frowin († 1178), saint and 2nd abbot of the monastery
- Monk Richene († 12th century), artist in the scriptorium under Abbot Frowin
- Abbot Berchtold I († 1197), saint and 3rd abbot of the monastery
- Abbot Heinrich I († 1223), 4th abbot of the monastery and founder of the Holy Cross of Engelberg
- Abbot Barnabas Bürki († 1546), 28th abbot of the monastery and president of the Baden disputation
- P. Wolfgang Iten (1712–1769), composer
- Abbot Emanuel Crivelli († 1749), 46th abbot of the monastery and builder of the baroque monastery complex
- P. Frowin Conrad (1833–1923), 1st Abbot of Conception Subsidiary, Missouri
- Br. Franz Xaver Ruckstuhl (1911–1979), artist
- P. Karl Stadler (1921–2012), artist
- P. Basil Studer (1925-2008), theologian
- P. Eugen Bollin (* 1939), artist
- P. Roman Hofer (1942–2011), church musician and composer
Picture gallery
Side altar of S. Antonius
Side altar of S. Benedictus
The monastery in winter
The portal facade of the monastery church at night
Grafenort mansion
literature
- Gallus Heer: From the past of the Engelberg monastery and valley. 1120-1970. Publishing house Benedictine Monastery Engelberg, Engelberg 1975.
- Helene Büchler-Mattmann, Gallus Heer: Engelberg Monastery. In: Helvetia Sacra , Department III, Volume 1, Bern 1986.
Web links
- Official website of Engelberg Abbey
- Urban Hodel, Rolf De Kegel: Engelberg (monastery). In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- Website of the school run by the monastery and the associated boarding school
- Show dairy in the monastery
Individual evidence
- ^ Daniel Schneller, Eduard Müller, Rolf De Kegel: The manor house Grafenort. (Swiss Art Guide, No. 601). Ed .: Society for Swiss Art History GSK. Bern 1996, ISBN 978-3-85782-601-6 .
- ↑ Disposition
- ^ Joseph Willimann: Iten, Wolfgang. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
Coordinates: 46 ° 49 ′ 14 " N , 8 ° 24 ′ 35" E ; CH1903: 674,103 / 185947