Mariazell-Wurmsbach Monastery
The Wurmsbach Abbey (lat. Abbatia Cella BMV ) is a Cistercian - Abbey and located in the village Bollingen on the shores of Lake Zurich in the municipality Rapperswil-Jona in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland . It belongs to the Mehrerau congregation .
In addition to the actual monastery area with church, cloister , chapter house, the monastic residential buildings, a guest house and cemetery and the garden surrounded by a wall, the complex includes the girls' boarding school “Impulse School Wurmsbach” as well as a large farm and barns. The Convention comes mostly from the 17th century.
The Mariazell-Wurmsbach monastery has been inhabited without interruption since it was founded in 1259. The current abbess Monika Thumm (since 2000) is the 43rd incumbent.
Wurmsbach before the monastery was founded
The name Wurmsbach is of Alemannic origin. Vurmheresvilari is first mentioned in 775 as the hamlet of Vurmari . 854 is the name of the settlement Vurmirrispah and 870 Wurmheresbach ; the Wurmher's brook replaced the hamlet. Since today's Wurmsbach was probably only derived from the founding of the monastery because of the Wagnerbach flowing northwards towards St. Dionys ( Jona SG ), it can be assumed that the core of the hamlet of Wurmsbach was not at the site of today's monastery, but further inland at the St. Dionys Church .
In the 10th century, the Wurmsbach farm belonged to the ancestors of the Counts of Rapperswil and the St. Gallen monastery . Until the 13th century, the monastic property gradually passed into the hands of the Rapperswilers; the Wurmsbach farm appears in the first half of the 13th century as the administrative center of the area there. St. Dionys was mentioned in 1147 as a church of the counts with its own parish and a folk priest .
During excavations, a 90 cm thick brick wall was uncovered under the floor of the chapter house, which had no connection with the new masonry and came from an older building. Small finds, including an oil lamp, a clay figurine and a glass bottle, could be dated to the 13th century. It can be assumed that the remains of the wall come from the former castle of the Counts of Rapperswil.
founding
Wurmsbach Abbey was founded in 1259 by Count Rudolf IV von Rapperswil and his wife Mechtild von Neifen. Rudolf was named Rudolf III around 1230. von Vaz- Rapperswil, the son of Walter III. by Vaz and Adelheid von Rapperswil. As the heir to the county, he called himself Rudolf IV von Rapperswil. He died on July 27, 1262 and in all probability was buried in the monastery. There are contradicting information about the place of his burial, since an actual grave was never found; According to other sources, he was buried in the Wettingen monastery.
Rudolf and Mechtild's son Vinzenz died in 1260 at the age of three years or less and was buried in Wurmsbach. His grave was discovered by chance in the winter of 1982 when installing floor heating at a depth of 55 cm.
The actual founding day is October 12, 1259. Count Rudolf had it announced in the court of Wurmsbach that he had given his castle and the surrounding property to the women of Mariaberg “ in monte Sanctae Mariae ” on the Albis , with the consent of his wife Mechtild von Neifen and his two year old son Vincent. Three goods were taken from the women of the Cistercian convent in Oberbollingen and given to the von Wurmsbach sisters; on October 12, 1260 Oberbollingen was compensated with 20 silver marks. The convent in Oberbollingen dissolved in 1267 and most of the sisters transferred to the Wurmsbach monastery.
In the register of the monastery there is the following entry for the founding deed : « 1259 VII his Decemb. in Rapprechtswyler, Count Rudolf von Rapperswyl hands over his castle and all the property in Wurmsbach to the abbess a. Convent at Marienberg near Kilchberg near Lake Zurich, which accepted the Cistercian order and moved to Wurmsbach. The letter of donation is given to the St. Martini (= old calendar) and sealed by Eberhard Bishop von Constanz, Berchtold Abbot of St. Gallen, Anselm Abbot of Einsiedeln, Count Rudolf von Habsburg, Baron Lütold von Regensberg and the founder himself. "
The donation took place in the presence of numerous witnesses: four monks, three priests, five knights and five other witnesses are named.
On November 11th, the day of St. Martin , the donation was repeated in Rapperswil Castle in the presence of witnesses. On December 7, 1259, the donation was confirmed in writing and the certificate was issued. The seals of Bishop Eberhard von Konstanz , Abbot Berchthold of St. Gallen , Abbot Anselm von Einsiedeln , Count Rudolf von Habsburg , Knight Lutolf von Regensberg and Rudolf von Rapperswil are attached to the certificate .
The sisters should serve God according to the rules of St. Benedict according to the statutes of the Cistercian order . The papal confirmation by Urban IV took place on March 7, 1262, the document was signed by eleven cardinals. Wurmsbach is called " Cella sancte Mariae ".
The first abbess was Adelheid von Wesperspühl. It cannot be documented, but is listed in the necrology (register of the dead) and in all lists of abbesses. She was chairman of the sister community on the Albis and moved to Wurmsbach with her fellow sisters.
«One morning Count Rudolf von Rapperswil rode out on a wolf hunt in the upper Lake Zurich. Suddenly, in his eagerness, he saw himself separated from his companions. Then a large wolf stepped out of the bushes, which the count struck down with a well-aimed arrow. At that moment, however, the she-wolf came up with two cubs to avenge the death of her companion. A heated struggle ensued, in which the count would have lost if Heaven had not sent quick help itself: a terrible thunderstorm broke out. Lightning struck the nearest tree and knocked it to the ground, causing the wild beasts to flee.
The count had sunk unconscious. When he recovered, he barely had the strength to mount his horse. Dark night had fallen and there was no path to be found, no light to be seen. The howling of wolves rang out from the woods. The count then said a heartfelt prayer and vowed to build a monastery on the spot if he would be helped out of this need. Then, miraculously, he heard the trickling of a little brook, rode after the murmur of the water and came to the bay, where some fishing boats were lying. There he found friendly people who entertained and protected him until morning came. The count was saved and built the Wurmsbach monastery according to his promise. "
investment
The first church
There are no documents about the first construction of the monastery church. It was built at the highest point on the site in the north. Based on a donation from a nun, it can be calculated that the church was built between 1270 and 1280. It was inaugurated in 1281 by the titular bishop Albert von Pomesanien . In 1369 the church was added to the parish church of Busskirch .
Excavations on the occasion of the restoration work in 1965 revealed information about the first church. It was built as a simple hall church with a straight choir end and thus corresponded to the type of churches of the Cistercian women from the 12th to 14th centuries. The choir was separated from the nave by a few steps , the choir stalls were two-tiered; Imprints of it were found in the ground. The nuns' choir was separated from the rest of the church by a rood screen, which was removed in 1866. In the rood screen, a passage led to the sick choir, which was separated from the rear prayer room for lay brothers and sisters by another rood screen.
The west and south walls of today's church are mostly from the first church, today's north wall stands on its foundation and today's choir is built into the original one.
Reconstruction after the Reformation
During the renovation around 1600, Abbess Maria Dumeisen (1591–1643) from Rapperswil renewed the church. She had the eastern third broken off, the choir was narrowed and closed off to the east with the three sides of an octagon. The church interior was designed in the late Gothic style and got a new (today's) roof structure. The lay room in the west was shortened and separated from the also reduced nuns' choir by a 40 cm high rood screen.
Numerous fragments in the rubble that were found suggest that all the choir windows were fitted with tracery ; one of them has been preserved. It was uncovered in 1965 and is now in the apex of the choir. The tower with a four-sided folding roof also comes from this conversion up to the height of the cross ridge. From 1615 to 1620 Maria Dumeisen had the renaissance cloister of the monastery built.
Coat of arms of Wurmsbach and the abbess Maria Dumeisen at the gate of the former curtain wall
Tracery window in the apex of the choir
Coat of arms of Wurmsbach and the abbess Maria Anna Müller
The baroque church
The baroque redesign of the church was carried out around 1767 by the abbess Anna Müller (1764–1788) from Schmerikon . The nuns' choir was moved to the rear, the lay room was vaulted and converted into a cellar. The extended nuns' choir came to rest on top. The ship windows have also been rearranged. In place of the previous west portal, a portal was built on the north side.
Johann Rudolf Rahn recorded the new exterior of the church on drawings in 1859. The architect of the renovations was probably Johann Jakob Haltiner von Altstätten , whose brother-in-law Johannes Grubenmann from Teufen had placed the onion dome on the Gothic tower shaft in 1767 . It was not always easy for the client with Grubenmann. She wrote: “Because of the bell tower, vill stood up, the Rappersweiler sent us the Hofweibel two meals a day and let us seize if we had a contract with J. Grubenmann. He received goods from the citizens of Rapperschweil and did not pay for them ... »
The renovation of 1767 is also the Rococo - stucco ceiling thanks to the church whose stained painting over the last few centuries have been removed. The three large ceiling paintings depict Mary's passage to the temple, the Sacred Heart of Jesus vision of St. Margaret Maria Alacoque and St. Cäcilia at the organ. They are framed by ten cartouches in the choir and eleven in the nave .
Remodeling in 1866
The fourth redesign of the church took place under the second abbess of Schmerikon, Maria Aloisia Coelestina Müller (1839–1888). The builder for these conversions was Anton Winiger from Rapperswil . With the opening of the school in 1843, the church had become too small, the front rood screen was broken off and the nuns' choir was moved to a western gallery. New doors and windows were knocked out, the baroque windows were replaced by the arched windows that still exist today, and the window in the apex of the choir was covered. Some of the ceiling paintings were painted over or covered with canvas.
On the advice of the Wettinger abbot Martin Reimann, the abbess had a pulpit and three altars each with two statues made by the sculptor Georg Lang. The organ was removed with the baroque furnishings; a new one was delivered in 1867 for 5322 Swiss francs by Martin Braun & Sohn from Spaichingen in Württemberg.
Renovation in 1895
This interior renovation took place under the direction of Abbess Margareta Brunner (1888–1905) and remained unchanged until 1965. The supervision was carried out by Father Albert Kuhn (1839–1929) from Einsiedeln Monastery, who found the neo-Romanesque changes of 1866 " neither suitable nor of high quality, everything was to be borrowed from the forms and motifs of the Rococo ". The interior of the church was redesigned in the Neurococo style based on designs by François Cuvilier (1695–1795) in Munich. Only the sacristy portal has survived from this rococo grandeur.
Reconstruction in 1965/1966
The exterior of the church, as it has been since 1866, remained largely unchanged. The post-Gothic tracery window was exposed in the choir front, a fourth window was broken out on the south side and the onion dome was renewed. The interior was completely cleared out and the old west entrance was reopened. Among other things, the three old wooden altars were removed and two new sandstone altars were built, new glass windows were made, a new floor made of sandstone slabs and a new, light-colored choir stalls made of elm wood were built by Ferdinand Thoma from neighboring Jona. There are three restored sculptures from the 16th century on the bright walls. One of them, a mourning Mother of God , was thrown into the lake in a community on Lake Zurich during the iconoclasm of the Reformation around 1530 and washed ashore near Wurmsbach. The nuns and their abbess Elisabeth Jäckli (1514–1566) took her out of the water and brought her to the monastery in a procession .
Forecourt with church, abbey and atrium, former guest house
Bell tower
Church after renovation in 2003
Tracery window in the apex of the choir
Madonna washed ashore near Wurmsbach
Rebuild in 2003
The unsightly church was renovated and rebuilt from January to December 2003. The architects were Max Ziegler from Rapperswil and Otto Schärli from Lucerne; Josef Caminada , goldsmith and iron sculptor from Vrin, was responsible for the design of the interior . Since the church space was too small for the numerous visitors on some Sundays, the nurses' choir, which had previously been in the rear part of the nave, was relocated to the actual choir space and expanded towards the nave; a new altar now forms the center of the church. In addition, chairs replaced the previous benches , which enables greater flexibility in the design of services. A new organ from Metzler Orgelbau stands a little higher between the two entrances . A prayer room was set up in an old vaulted cellar. The sacristy was also redesigned; it is accessible from the choir and from the ship. The baroque ceiling and the flooring in local sandstone from Bollingen were retained. The square in front of the church was redesigned and a glass vestibule was built around the entrance.
Bells
During the siege of Rapperwil in the First Villmerger War , three large and one small bells were taken away by the Zurich people in 1656, but later returned, including two probably cast by Peter Füssli in Zurich in 1606. In 1718 lightning struck the tower and melted all the bells. As a citizen of Zurich, the abbess Klara Helbling received 100 pounds from the city council for the damage and the remission of a debt. Today's peal consists of three bells.
Tombs
Until 1906, the low chapter house looked more like a cellar. To gain height, they dug a meter deep. The bones of the abbesses and the grave slabs were brought into the cemetery hall. A copy in the chapter house commemorates the founder. On one of the sandstone slabs (175 × 55 cm) you can find the coat of arms reliefs of the Counts of Rapperswil with the three stemmed roses and the three horns of the von Neifen. The inscription on the head reads: «ANNO DMI MCCLXII VI. K (alendas) AUGUSTI O (biit) RUDOLFUS FUND (ator) »(Rudolf, the founder, died in 1262 on July 27th). A second sandstone slab shows a relief of an abbess's staff, inscriptions and coats of arms are illegible. Possibly it is the grave slab of the first abbess Adelheid von Wesperspühl († probably 1266). There are also three more plates by the abbesses Anna Müller von Schmerikon, Aloisia Crescentia Schmid and Maria Josepha († 1839).
Grave slab of Rudolf IV of Rapperswil
Grave slab with abbess staff, possibly by Adelheid von Wesperspühl
Monastery building
For the Cistercians, the cloister forms the center of the monastery complex. The Wurmsbach plant also corresponds to this regulation; the foundation goes back to the first building plan from the 13th century. The buildings of the Klostergeviert today surround a closed cloister through which the Mühlebach, which is now covered, flows through.
The buildings owned by the founder Rudolf von Rapperswil are likely to have existed until the 16th century. Abbess Dorothea Vetterli (1574–1581) first had extensive new buildings built: in 1578 she built the refectory on the site of an older building and in 1588 the guest house. The defense tower of the former castle is said to have stood at this point.
Construction work continued under Abbess Maria Dumeisen (1591–1643). In 1612 a new abbess wing was built and a little later a new cloister. In her necrology, on the day of her death, January 3, 1643, it is said that she " presided over this house of God for 52 years and increased and adorned it with vill nuwes ." In 1666, Humbelina Brock (1659–1673) had a reception room built on the first floor of the guest room. The second floor of the guest house was built under Anna Müller (1764–1788). Her successor Rosa Romana Schleuniger (1788–1806) had the convent wing rebuilt and the roof of the abbey renewed. In 1817 a French garden was laid out on the east side of the monastery and surrounded by a wall.
Under Margareta Brunner (1888–1905) numerous historicizing changes in the style of neo-Gothic and neo-Romanesque were made, which greatly changed the appearance of the building; so the cloister was enlarged and the gate redesigned. In 1953 the refectory was renewed under Felix Schmid.
The cloister is characterized by the round-arched double windows that are glazed today, which apparently date back to the construction period around 1610–1620. The walls facing the garden come from the new building of the abbess Maria Dumeisen at the beginning of the 17th century. The foundations, unless they have been replaced by concrete, date back to the Romanesque period.
Garden and laundry house
Patio. On the right the original double windows. Lukarne from 1612
Rose bush in the garden of the Kreuzhof
Chapter House
refectory
Until the 1980s, the open mill stream flowed in a sandstone canal in the garden ; steps on the south side gave access to the water. To cope with the plague of rats, he was laid in tubes and covered. A fountain in the garden has been a typical part of a Cistercian monastery, at least recently.
The chapter house is on the ground floor of the eastern convent building, the oldest part of the monastery. The basement-like room has arched windows similar to the cloister. A wooden pillar stood in the middle of the room to support the flat beamed ceiling. Until 1600 the abbesses had their burial places in the chapter house. In 1906 August Hardegger rebuilt the chapter house in the Rococo style.
The refectory is an elongated hall with three southern and six eastern rectangular windows. The beam ceiling is underpinned by a longitudinal girder, which is supported by two wooden Renaissance columns. The pillars stand on remains of walls from pre-monastic times.
The guest house was built in 1588; the date can be found in a stonemason's mark in the top of the sandstone portal at the northeast entrance. The large consulting room was converted into a festive hall in 1666 and renovated in 1965.
The convent, together with the chapter house and the refectory, was extensively renovated between summer 2010 and spring 2011.
Graves
On the occasion of the structural renovation of the cloister and the installation of underfloor heating in January and February 1982, four burial sites were found, although the Cistercians were only allowed to be buried in the cloister in exceptional cases and probably only from the 15th century. The rules stipulated that the abbots were to be buried in the chapter house and the other members of the monastery in the cemetery east of the church. The grave finds confirm a pre-monastic settlement from the first half of the 13th century.
The four graves were close to the church in the north and east wings. In graves A and C on the south wall of the north wing, multiple burials took place, in graves B (in front of the entrance to the chapter house) and D (in the northeast corner) there was only one dead person. Graves A, B and C were covered again after the inventory. Since grave D fell victim to the structural changes, the skeleton was removed and examined.
In grave A, about one meter deep, the remains of a 180 cm long and 40 cm wide coffin were found, the rotten wood of which was easily recognizable. Inside lay the east-west oriented skeleton of an approx. 155 cm tall, not yet 30-year-old woman. Traces of fabric suggest that the deceased was buried in a dress. In addition, there were remains of at least two women.
Grave B was also the grave of a woman, she was about 110 cm deep in a wooden coffin. The dead woman was 160 cm tall and around 40 to 50 years old. The numerous rusty iron spheres in the grave filling that could have served to decorate a ceiling were striking.
In grave C lay the remains of an approximately 45-year-old woman were found in a wooden coffin at the same depth. In the filling of the grave there were bones of at least two women and a man about 60 years old.
The most notable grave was grave D. It was discovered when the large sandstone slabs were removed during the excavation for the floor heating. The skeleton of a small child came to light in the gap between two stones, lying about 55 cm deep on the natural ground. The child was lying on its right side with its legs drawn up a little and its arms slightly bent. There was not the slightest trace of a coffin. The anthropological investigation revealed that it was the skeleton of a child about two years old. The developed milk teeth indicate an age of around three years, the length of the tibia and the radius indicate an age of around 18 months. Bones of the femoral neck and some vertebrae showed a pathological change due to the exposed cancellous bone . The cause could have been a lack of vitamins, which caused stunted growth.
In the deed of foundation of December 7th, 1259, in addition to Count Rudolf von Rapperswil and his wife Mechtild von Neifen, their son Vinzenz , who died at an early age, is named as the founder . Like his father, he is said to have been buried in Wurmsbach. As a child of the donor family, he was buried at a chosen location in the monastery. It is therefore conceivable that Vincent was not buried as the first burial in the chapter house, but in the cloister. None of the dead could be identified, only the child's skeleton comes with high probability from Vinzenz von Rapperswil († around 1260). Today it lies in a sarcophagus in the cloister between the chapter house and the entrance to the church.
school
Beginnings
Under the abbesses Josefa Mayer (1832–1839) and the founder of the daughter institute Aloisia Coelestina Müller (1839–1888), for a time as early as the second half of the 18th century, the monastery had always accommodated twelve to fifteen maternity daughters, some of whom lived on prepared for entry into the order, partly trained in the most essential school subjects and in the management of housekeeping.
After the French invasion, which abolished the small school, Abbot Steinegger von Wettingen encouraged Abbess Rosa Roman Schleuniger (1788–1806) in 1804 to “ accept 4 - 6 maternity daughters, because it was always like that, and to teach them and to educate; because then she still has the fame in the world that she makes useful to the churches and the state . "
Work school
By ordinance of March 23, 1836, the Catholic Administrative Council of the canton of St. Gallen gave the women's monasteries the alternative of either paying an annual contribution to the female education system or doing other charitable work. Wurmsbach decided on the latter and set up a handicraft school for the girls in the area, which was run by the teacher Josefa Pfäffli. However, since the way for the children from the surrounding villages was too far, the school closed in 1842.
Foundation of the institute
The monastery had decided to open its own daughter institute. On January 8, 1842, the contract between the monastery and the St. Gall Educational Council for the " establishment of a private daughter school " was signed. Under the architect Wilhelm Kubly von St. Gallen, the two-storey institute was set up in the south wing of the monastery, with three heatable classrooms on the ground floor and a large communal dormitory with 34 beds on the first floor.
The search for suitable teachers turned out to be difficult; Babetta Herz and Josephina Weiss were only found in Bavaria . They were examined on September 19, 1843 by the delegate of the Education Council and received a teaching permit for one year. Josefa Pfäffli, who had already headed the work school, took over the management of the institute. On November 4, 1843, the institute was opened with a solemn service. 16 pupils were taught religion, German, French, " head and numerals ", simple bookkeeping, geography, history, instrumental music and singing, drawing and handicraft.
New building
Instead of renovating the dilapidated old buildings, it was decided to build new buildings in two stages. At the beginning of May 1972, a new school building was opened north of the monastery, and on November 3, 1976, the new boarding school building next to it was occupied. The official inauguration took place on March 27, 1977. Today, over a hundred girls between the ages of 12 and 17 from all over Switzerland are taught in the Wurmsbach Impulse School. In addition to teaching school material, emphasis is placed on personal initiative and responsibility, holistic learning, the ability to work in a team and the acquisition of social skills.
Atrium
In the so-called “Lichthof” (formerly the guest house), a four-story building from the 16th century that adjoins the monastery church, private visitors have the opportunity to spend a few days as guests. Meeting rooms, work room, lounge and a library are available.
timeline
Below are some special events from the 750-year history of the monastery.
13th Century
- October 12, 1259: the day the monastery was founded
- December 7, 1259: Written confirmation of the establishment
- July 1, 1262: The women of Wurmsbach are accepted into the citizenship of the city of Zurich.
- October 26, 1266: The first abbess Adelheid von Wesperspühl dies and is buried in the chapter house.
- 1281: The church is consecrated.
14th Century
- 1311: Johannes Schön von Heslibach in Küsnacht enters the monastery as a lay brother .
- 1387: Abbot Burkard Wiss von Wettingen sued the Wurmsbach Abbess Margareta Krieg, she refused to obey him. The abbess remains in office.
15th century
- April 10, 1416: Abbess Agnes von Grüningen renews the castle rights with Zurich
- June 1443: Schwyzer and Glarus rob and loot in the confusion of the Old Zurich War in the monastery.
- April 1444: During the siege of Rapperswil, the Confederates move their headquarters to Wurmsbach, the nuns flee.
- 1472: The foundation letter is translated into German by the notary Johannes Weber in Lütisburg in Toggenburg .
16th Century
- November 25, 1514: Elisabeth Jäckli von Küsnacht has to be forced to accept the election as abbess; she finds herself too young for the office.
- Autumn 1531: Iconoclasm in the monastery: the nuns are forced to take off their habit . First they have to dye the white clothes, later they wear worldly clothes.
- During this time, a statue of Our Lady was washed up on the beach, which had been thrown into the water in a sea community.
- 1578: The refectory is rebuilt.
- 1588: Construction of the guest house (today the atrium), traditionally on the site of the former castle tower.
17th century
- 1600: New construction of the church and the abbess Maria Domeisen, who had made her profession under Abbot Christoph Silberysen .
- 1612: The abbess wing is built.
- January 17, 1616: After a long argument with the Council of Rapperswil, Wurmsbach retains the right to accept candidates.
- 1620: The cloister is rebuilt.
- 1619: The wall around the garden is built to better protect the monastery.
- January 25, 1629: The abbess asks the council of Zurich to let Wurmsbach dispense with the war horse to be provided because it had got into heavy debts through building.
- January 1656: Siege of Rapperswil: The nuns flee as 300 people from Zurich occupy the Wurmsbach. An attack by the Schwyz on January 16 is repulsed. The destruction caused by the people of Zurich is great; among other things, six altars are led away.
- April 24, 1657: Wurmsbach receives 300 silver crowns from papal aid.
- 1666: A new magnificent ballroom is inaugurated in the guest house.
- 1678: serious disputes with the council of Rapperswil. It is about sales of wood, hay and straw. An agreement was not reached until 1688.
18th century
- June 22, 1718: Lightning strikes the church tower and melts the bells, the clock and the upper part of the organ. A fire can be prevented thanks to quick intervention.
- May 5, 1738: Provisions for a stricter enclosure are issued.
- 1765: The church is rebuilt and a new organ is purchased.
- January 28, 1769: Abbess Maria Anna Müller rides to Zurzach with two sisters to personally pick up the 1000 guilders promised to them by the brother of a sister.
- 1779: Renovation work is carried out on the guest house and abbess wing.
- 1781: Because the monastery supplies stones for the construction of the Grossmünster towers without the permission of Rapperswil , a new dispute arises.
- July 8th, 1789: The monastery under the abbess Rosa Romana Schleuniger calls the patronage in Zurich, because the magistrate of Rapperswil wants to bring Wurmsbach under its jurisdiction. Councilors from Zurich, Bern and Glarus wrote to Rapperswil in 1792 that they found their claims “overstretched” and called for an agreement. The disputes rest for a few years.
- 1796: The magistrate forbids the monastery to continue to host French emigrants .
- April 28, 1798: 1600 residents of Glarus arrive at the monastery and are catered for as best they can. The sisters flee.
- 1790: The Directory ( Helvetic Republic ) abolishes all monasteries; in summer the Rapperswilers rob and plunder the monastery.
- July 14, 1790: A decree of the Directory allows the sisters to return to the monastery.
- May 31, 1799: Imperial troops , 11,000 men, gather around the monastery at night, the general staff was entertained. The billeting lasts until September, when the hospital is moved to the monastery.
View from ...
... the seaside
19th century
- 1803: The monastery receives the main part of its archive back from Rapperswil, the Grand Council of the Canton of St. Gallen gives the monastery back its self-administration and Wurmsbach regains a bearable existence.
- 1817: In the year of famine , marshland is converted into gardens within the monastery. There is a great lack of money, many servants leave the monastery. A porridge is cooked from the flour from potato peel. A description of the events is found in 1910 in the ball of the church tower.
- February 20, 1835: Representatives of the Siebner Concordat determine that Wurmsbach may only have 20 sisters; from 1841 there are 27.
- May 11, 1836: A fire destroys the monastery mill, three of the tenant's children are killed.
- November 4, 1843: The «daughter school» opens with sixteen girls and two teachers. Directrice is Mme. Weber. 14. February 1880: Under Abbess Aloisia Müller the pekulium (private property) is abolished and the strict enclosure introduced in 1883; the annual trips to Einsiedeln in closed carriages will be discontinued.
- May 23, 1892: Seven boarding school students drown on a boat trip on Lake Zurich.
- Summer 1897: Wurmsbach is the first company in the region to purchase agricultural machinery: mowing and turning machines are bought.
20th century
- March 13, 1907: running water is installed in the monastery; the water is drawn from a distance of 1700 m.
- 1908: The mill of the monastery mill is sold for 3000 francs and the mill is closed, it is no longer competitive. It is continued as a farm lease.
- November 1909: hot water heating is installed in the church and the adjoining rooms.
- June 15, 1910: Flood, water had to be drawn in the chapter house all day.
- December 24, 1910: For the first time, the monastery shines in electric light.
- September 23, 1913: The barn falls victim to a fire, the church treasure and archive are brought to safety in the grove. The fire brigade stayed on the field for three days; arson is suspected.
- July 29, 1917: Wurmsbach takes in 14 Flemish girls for one year . Later the monastery received a Medal of Merit from Queen Elisabeth of Belgium and a letter of thanks.
- November 13, 1918: During the state strike , 20 soldiers are quartered in the monastery.
- 1922: In summer the nuns are allowed to leave the monastery for the first time since the introduction of the strict enclosure in 1883 to collect fruit: Numerous servants were dismissed because the wages could no longer be paid.
- Under Abbess Scholastica Höchle, the monastery has the most members: 60 to 64. The number of schoolgirls, however, has dropped to 20, which means that schools are no longer profitable: The monastery is facing economic ruin.
- January 18, 1943: Abbess Scholastica dies at the age of 88. After 36 years in office, she resigned on September 2, 1941.
- 1947: The bookkeeping of the monastery is reorganized in line with the times. Several structural and hygienic changes are made to the monastery and school.
- 1956: Central heating is installed in the entire building complex . During the installation, part of the Renaissance frescoes in the refectory is destroyed.
- June 7, 1967: The renovated church is consecrated. The sisters are dressed in black and white for the first time.
- October 11, 1976: The new institute is ready and moving into.
- December 25, 1983: The refectory has been renovated and will be occupied again after two and a half years.
Church with choir, looking north
Linden tree in the courtyard behind the guest house
Cemetery and garden
Abbesses
Where no date of death is given, it can be assumed that the abbess in question died in office. From 1269 to 1318 no name of an abbess is mentioned in the documents. The term of office of Abbess Mechtild von Fillingen is likely to fall during this time. In Nekrologium it says on September 18 without a year: “ It is the guardian of the year Frow Mechtilden von Fillingen, the eptissin, who gave us two quart of seeds. »
| Surname | origin | born | died | Term of office | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Adelheid von Wesperspühl | 1259-1266 | |||
| 2. | Judenta from Aegeri | 1267-1269 | |||
| 3. | Mechthild from Fillingen | ? | |||
| 4th | Margaretha | 1318 | |||
| 5. | Elizabeth | 1321-1323 | |||
| 6th | Margaretha von Rambach (?) | 1331 | |||
| 7th | Clara | 1349 | 1349 | ||
| 8th. | Anna | 1353-1355 | |||
| 9. | Margaretha Sigbott | 1364-1366 | |||
| 10. | Margareth Soler (?) | 1366 | |||
| 11. | Fren of St. Johann | 1368 | |||
| 12. | Margaretha war | Bellikon | 1371-1373, 1393, 1403 | ||
| 13. | Agnes von Grüningen | Grüningen ZH | 1411-1416 | ||
| 14th | Verena of St. Johann | Küsnacht ZH | 1417-1419 | ||
| 15th | Elsbeth of St. Johann | Küsnacht | 1429-1440 | ||
| 16. | Verena Früg | Zurich | 1444 | ||
| 17th | Verena Netstaler | Glarus | 1446 | ||
| 18th | Amalia of St. Johann | 1449-1451, 1467 | |||
| 19th | Elsbeth von Hünenberg | Rapperswil | 1478-1483 | ||
| 20th | Elsbeth cuboid | Sargans | 1492 | ||
| 21st | Margareta Sumer | Aarau | 1514-1566 | ||
| 22nd | Elisabeth Jackli | Küsnacht | 1514-1566 | ||
| 23. | Elisabeth Würker | Rapperswil | 1240-1289 | ||
| 24. | Dora Vetterli | miles | 1575-1591 | ||
| 25th | Maria Dumeisen | Rapperswil | 1591-1643 | ||
| 26th | Maria Scholastika vom Staal | Solothurn | 1608 | 1659 | 1643-1659 |
| 27. | Maria Humbelina Brock | Weissenberg near Feldkirch A | 1673 | 1659-1673 | |
| 28. | Maria Klara Scherrer | Feldkirch | 1692 | 1673-1692 | |
| 29 | Scholastica Wick | Wil SG | 1725 | 1692-1705 | |
| 30th | Ursula Zurlauben | train | 1651 | 1727 | 1705-1717 |
| 31. | Klara Helbling | Rapperwil | 1668 | 1734 | 1718-1734 |
| 32. | Basilia Vogt | Cheeks SZ | 1687 | 1756 | 1734-1756 |
| 33. | Lutgardis Müller | Schönenberg TG | 1705 | 1764 | 1756-1764 |
| 34. | Anna Maria Müller | Schmerikon SG | 1732 | 1788 | 1764-1788 |
| 35. | Rosa Romana Schleuniger | Klingnau AG | 1743 | 1806 | 1788-1806 |
| 36. | Aloisia Crescentia Schmid | Bellikon AG | 1757 | 1832 | 1806-1832 |
| 37. | Maria Josefa Mayer | Stockach D | 1785 | 1839 | 1832-1839 |
| 38. | Aloisia Coelestina Müller | Schmerikon | 1808 | 1888 | 1839-1888 |
| 39. | Margarita Brunner | Laupersdorf SO | 1847 | 1905 | 1888-1905 |
| 40. | Maria Scholastica Höchle | Klingnau | 1855 | 1943 | 1905-1941 |
| 41. | Maria Ida Räber | Langnau LU | 1889 | 1978 | 1941-1970 |
| 42. | Clara Romer | Rüti ZH | 1925 | 1970-2000 | |
| 43. | Monika Thumm | Heidenheim D. | 1952 | 2000– |
Coat of arms of Abbess Ida Maria Räber
Coat of arms of Abbess Monika Thumm
Walk on the Obersee
Sunset at Wurmsbach am Obersee
literature
- Bernhard Anderes: The lake district . Birkhäuser Verlag, Basel 1966 (The Art Monuments of the Canton of St. Gallen; Vol. 4)
- Karl Grunder, Hans Rudolf Sennhauser : Cistercian buildings in Switzerland . Verlag der Fachvereine, Zurich 1990, ISBN 978-3-7281-1774-8 (publication by the Institute for Monument Preservation Zurich).
- Marianne-Franzsika Imhasly:. ... 1259 wurmsbach 2009. .. ERNi Druck and Media AG, Rapperswil-Jona and Kaltbrunn 2009.
- Beatrix Oertig u. a. (Editor): Cistercian Abbey Mariazell Wurmsbach . Berti Druck, Rapperwil 1984.
- Pascale Sutter (adaptation): Legal sources of the city and rule of Rapperswil (with the farms Busskirch / Jona, Kempraten and Wagen) . In: Collection of Swiss legal sources , XIV. Department: The legal sources of the canton of St. Gallen, Part two: The city rights of St. Gallen and Rapperswil, Second row: The legal sources of the city and rule of Rapperswil, Schwabe, Basel 2007. ISBN 978-3 -7965-2297-0 [1]
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Website Rapperswil-Jona, churches and monasteries: Chapel of St. Dionys
- ↑ Bernhard Anderes: The Art Monuments of the Canton of St. Gallen, Volume IV, The Lake District. Birkhäuser Verlag, Basel 1966.
- ↑ Website of the Wurmsbach Monastery: Impulse School Wurmsbach ( Memento of the original from December 27, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
Coordinates: 47 ° 13 '12 " N , 8 ° 51' 54" E ; CH1903: seven hundred and eight thousand and thirty-four / 230878