Bürgel Abbey

The monastery Biirgel is a former Benedictine monastery in the district Thalbürgel the city Biirgel ( Thuringia) in the hall - wood land district of Thuringia. The still preserved Romanesque church of St. Mary and St. Georg ( often referred to as the monastery church Thalbürgel referred to ) is one of the most sacred monuments of Thuringia and contains the remains of the only Benedictine Season choir in Germany. The monastery church leads the cycle path Jena - Thalbürgel.

Location and current use

The remains of the monastery Biirgel are surrounded by several ponds in the present-day village Thalbürgel about 13 km east of Jena on a hill above the tracks opposite the George Berg.

Preserved and restored are the former Zinsspeicher and the Romanesque monastery church. The whole of the original extent of the system can be still present on the basis of stables and barns around ( the former farm buildings of the monastery ). In Zinsspeicher now houses a museum.

The church has since its re- repair in the years 1964 to 1972, not only the church of the Evangelical congregation room, it is also a place changing art exhibitions and with its excellent acoustics concert hall for the Thal Bürgeler concert summer.

History

Foundation

Already in the early Middle Ages there was on the George Berg at the intersection of two trade routes and the ford over the tracks, a fixture which was probably dedicated to St. George. From their names Burgelin the current place name evolved from the mid-16th century.

On February 13, 1133 was the Lusatian margrave Henry of Groitzsch and his wife Bertha Bishop Udo I of Thuringia, the 58 monastic foundations of worldly men favored in his tenure, allowed to set up on the family farm Burgeliner a congregatio monachorum ( monastic community ). After Wolfgang Hartmann Bertha was a daughter of Dietmar, Count of Selbold - Gelnhausen, from the noble Reginbodonen. She was related to Paulina, the Matronin the monastery Paulinzella. Paulina was succeeded in 1114 in the wake of the Cluniac reform movement to build this papal own monastery with legal autonomy of the Convention under direct imperial protection. The foundation charter of Paulinzella was almost verbatim for the new community, and on May 15, 1136 Emperor Lothar III. signed. Thus, the basilica and the monastery Biirgel also by monks from Paulinzella and Hirsau was built. The equal ranking with Paulinzella was the monks of Biirgel long time of great importance.

10 years after the foundation of the monastery Biirgel a daughter monastery was founded in 1143 north of Glauchau. It should serve the brethren of the monastery Biirgel. A donation of 100 Königshufen country right and left of the trough should serve the economic consolidation. Due to the rather large distance from Biirgel a Benedictine convent nor was founded, which has borne the name Remse from 1216. However, a certificate of incorporation is not available. It is certain that the monastery was built on Remse Bürgler land and always was a daughter house of Biirgel. It had no legal independence, but an economic one. The pastor was always used by Bürgeler Abt. Economically, the monastery was weak. The last abbot of Biirgel left as a result of the Peasants' War in 1525 and went to Biirgel Remse to be supported from there. Then in 1533 the monastery was dissolved Remse. The monastery took control Schoenburg and the monastery church fell into disrepair. Today, you can anticipate yet the monastery only.

Medieval monasteries translated from the outset and for the agricultural development of their surrounding areas with. The Bürgeler monastery possessed at the beginning not much agricultural land. However, it was in the course of two centuries has become an important economic factor in the feudal society between Saale and Elster. It increased his estate sent. Even entire villages were property. These included, inter alia: Remderoda ( 1308), Wallichen at Erfurt ( 1318 ), Bobeck ( 1325 ), Münchenroda ( 1330), Altlöbnitz ( 1352), Stiebritz ( 1358 ), goats Hain ( 1435 ), Gerega ( 1451 ). Another 20 villages and farmsteads or large parcels were purchased. Also in Erfurt acquired one property. Vineyards in the hall and Gleistal called the Monastery her own. At this development, the abbots played a major role. Particular emphasis is given: John of Kothe joke (1355-1368), Heinrich von Kaufungen (1408-1433) and Eberhardt Wölfer ( 1434-1469 ). Among these villages were populated with eight Slavs.

The Ostpartie (1142 - 1150)

Beyond the transept extended five chapels of increasing size, the cross-shaped valley Bürgeler basilica to a stepped choir. The five chapels of the choir season (actually should be called a staggered Sanctuary ) served the celebration of the Holy Mass. Since the same altar daily just an exhibition could be read, offered the acoustically relatively isolated rooms five priests monks opportunity for simultaneous private Mass, which had become very important in the 12th century. This also shows that in Biirgel numerically very many priests monks must have lived in relation to the Laienbrüdernen.

Staffelsanktuarien of Thal Bürgeler type can be found at the time it was built only in the central German Cistercian churches like in Schulpforta or George valley. The model was primarily Cluny, but direct inspiration of the architect of Thalbürgel was the investment of Paulinzella. Today only the foundations are still visible.

The nave with its divided pillars and arches, its flat ceiling and the remains of a rood screen is 30m long and the relatively large windows in the clerestory give the room a festive dignity and severity. This monk church should symbolize the New Jerusalem.

The western section and the towers (1150 - 1180)

After Margrave Henry died on December 31, 1135, secured Bertha (also Berchta called ) in the form of Erbgütern material existence for " seven Closter Virgin " and even in 1322 it is shown that the bailiffs of Gera Erbzinsen vrouwen to the "from Burgelin " have transferred. Bertha probably wanted to spend as a kind of pen lady here their retirement. As a maintenance assurance for the ladies included the construction of residential accommodation and also a special worship space was created. For thal Bürgeler original building was therefore a Western antechurch with nuns' choir, from the remains of which are still preserved. Bertha is buried in the Ostpartie after Lausnitzer monastery chronicle.

The great western portal at the east end of the nave of the antechurch has large share of the glory of the valley Bürgeler monastery church. Undoubtedly, the construction of the portal with its four arches of different shapes a picture of the sky and the cosmos should be presented. Again, the Master of Biirgel Paulinzella served with his 1124 incurred portal as an architectural model. Overall, only slightly changed preserved with depth and height of 9 m 4 m the basic dimensions.

Here appears for the first time in a monastery church an opportunity to be baptized to have been integrated. The now in the nave exploiting dividend baptismal font was probably originally in the field of antechurch and served the Sorbs mission.

Westbau and antechurch emerged no later than 1160. Upon completion of the two east towers in the year 1174 the church took his degree, and was finally completed later than the nave 1180th

Until the Reformation

During the late Middle Ages, the powerful twin-towered front of the monastery church marked (only the south tower was retained ) as a landscape dominant mark the position of the Convention and showed who embodied the power in the territory. The City Council Biirgel had to obey the abbot of the oath of allegiance. The secular affairs of the Bürgeler were regulated in the cloister, he was effectively the seat of government, or the " King's Hall " of the monastery. The monastery had at that time own Schneider and Hunter, a chef, a master Sang, a Siechhausmeister and produced wine of considerable capacity. From the late period of the monastery a crucifix from the succession of Tilman Riemenschneider is obtained, which was restored in the 1980s. Also get in the original version is a Pietà, which was probably created around 1480 in an Erfurt carving workshop. As a result of the Reformation in Thuringia, the monastery was dissolved in 1526 and thus left to decay. The monastic property was taken over by the elector and he established a Kammergut. The rights went to which has now become the Official Biirgel based in the monastery. For office included: city Biirgel with the places Gniebsdorf, Nausnitz, Taupadel, Small Löbichau, Gerega, Waldeck, Bobeck, Beulbar, Ilmsdorf, Hetzdorf and Wogau. The new headquarters was a prerequisite for the formation of the place Thalbürgel. The former water castle Kaltenhausen is only one castle hill surrounded by a circular moat, because it was adapted after the founding of the monastery to the farmyard and Vorwerk, After the Reformation, the Freihofstraße Gniebsdorf became the farmyard of the chamber property Thalbürgel and Vorwerk Kaltenhausen fell into disrepair.

From the Reformation to the present day

The clips from large sandstone blocks walls of the monastery served as a welcome quarry for new buildings in the village Thalbürgel and environment. Only when Philipp Melanchthon came to his visitations in Thuringian countryside, made this his influence to make the remains of the monastery church again available for the rural community as a Protestant church and get it. After the demolition of the aisles in 1562 the nave arcades were walled and built galleries in the hall has become a central nave. 1817, the last two columns of the west portal were removed for equipping the Weimar castle park.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe finally realized the importance of the abbey church and the adjacent facilities and prompted its preservation and partial reconstruction. The first restoration work began in the 1840s. Text and pictures by Ludwig Puttrich promoted the re-evaluation of the church building of Thalbürgel - next to the Wartburg in Eisenach and the monastery ruins of Paulinzella - a patriotic monument. Your recovery is a significant achievement of the early German historic preservation. 1964 to 1972 the church was brought as part of a Romanesque basilica in its current state and in 1982 the church was a small organ. Two capitals were installed as spoils from the monastery Biirgel in Weimar in the park on the Ilm at the Lion fighters portal, its design came from the Planning Director, Clemens Wenceslaus Coudray.

Today, the church next to worship the concerts of the valley concert Bürgeler summer and changing art exhibitions.

Used literature

• Möbius Friedrich: Monastery church THAL BÜRGEL, Schnell & Steiner Verlag, Regensburg 1996
• Wolfgang Hartmann: Vom Main zur Trifels - from Hirsau monastery to Naumburg Cathedral. In the High Middle Ages traces of Frankish noble family of Reginbodonen. Publications of History and Art Association Aschaffenburg Aschaffenburg 52 eV Bd 2004, ISBN 3-87965-098-5