Arbroath Abbey

Arbroath Abbey, German monastery Arbroath Abbey Arbroath, is a former Benedictine abbey in Arbroath in the unitary authority and traditional county of Angus on the east coast of Scotland.

The monastery was founded in 1178 at the instigation of the Scottish king William the Lion of Benedictine monks from the Abbey of Kelso südschottischen and consecrated in 1197. Last Abt 1524 Cardinal David Beaton.

Arbroath Abbey is a National Monument and is administered by the state conservation authority " Historic Scotland ". The striking ruins of red sandstone can be visited throughout the year.

Architecture

The monastery was in a period of some sixty years of red sandstone in the style of the English late Gothic ( " Perpendicular style": " Perpendicular style " ) and with influences of European Romanesque ( " Norman style": " Norman " ) built. The triforium is an example of Scottish architecture in the Middle Ages; it is flanked by two towers with colonnades. The cruciform ground plan of the church measures 84 times 49 meters.

Get the Built in the 15th century sacristy, south transept, with its lancet windows ( the largest in Scotland ), parts of the choir ( chancel ), the southern half of the nave as well as ruins of the western towers and the western archway.

The soft sandstone was plastered inside and out. Many of the former architectural details have been lost due to erosion; only individual fragments obtained give a general idea of the original appearance. The characteristic round window in the south transept was lit at night and served as a beacon for shipping.

Originally the church had a central tower which was visible from afar and may have served as a landmark for ships.

Of the monastic buildings only a few have been preserved: the impressive gatehouse, which extends from the southwest corner of the church up to a tower on the "High Street" in Arbroath, and the house of the abbot from the 13th, 15th and 16th centuries, which is the best preserved of its kind in Scotland.

History

King William gave the monastery of great independence and equipped it generously, among other things, with the income from 24 parishes and estates in all the free cities of Scotland. The monks received market rights and permission to build a port. The English King John permitted the duty-free trade of the monastery in the entire country with the exception of London.

During the Scottish Reformation, the monastery fell into disrepair; his stones found in 1580 from use in the construction of buildings in Arbroath. 1700 m corresponded to the overall impression about today. 1809 has been restored on the initiative of Robert Stevenson, the large round window, 1815 measures for the conservation of the remaining monastery ruins have been taken.

On 11 April 1951, the police found at the monastery altar in the Arbroath on December 25, 1950 stolen from Westminster Abbey in London "Stone of Scone ", the Scottish coronation stone.

Since 2005, efforts will be made to include Monastery Abbey as a cultural monument in the " UNESCO World Heritage List ".

Declaration of Arbroath

The richest monastery in Scotland at that time was famous for the Declaration of Arbroath, the Scottish Declaration of Independence on 6 April 1320. Still every year the signing of the Declaration is on April 6, celebrated with a procession and pageants.

Grave laying

King Wilhelm I was buried before the high altar of the monastery church.

Visitor center

An opened in summer 2001 visitor center provides information on the history of the monastery and displays various relics, as well as a scale model of the former building complex. Computer animation is the monastery during his heyday dar.