Gunther of Bohemia

Gunther (* uncertain: 955; † October 9, 1045 at Gunther Berg at Gutwasser, Bohemian Forest ) was a recluse. Alternative names are Gunther von Niederaltaich and Gunther of Thuringia. The Benedictine monk, was the founder of the monastery Rinchnach.

Life

Gunther was a Thuringian Gaugraf, about whose origin no reliable figures have survived. He may have been born around 955 in Schwarzburg. Gunther could come from the house of Schwarzburg and was a cousin of Henry II According to some sources he was said to be a brother Stephen, but this is unlikely since Stephen's wife Gisela of Bavaria comes from the house of Liudolfinger.

When Henry II in 1005 Godehard named the new abbot of Hersfeld, changed for Gunther 's life. He renounced on Christmas Day 1005 the worldly life and joined the Benedictine Order. His property he transferred the abbey and the monastery of Hersfeld Göllingen.

After a pilgrimage to Rome Gunther 1006 was accepted as a novice in the monastery Niederaltaich. In 1008 he went as a hermit in the Bavarian Forest and lived in Lalling on the Ranzingerberg.

In 1011 he moved with a group of Benedictine monks deeper to build a monastery there in the forests of the mountains. After eight years of work, the clearing work and the building were so far completed that the monastery Rinchnach was consecrated on August 29, 1019 by the Bishop of Passau, Berengar of Passau. The monastery was at this time the first settlement of the central Bavarian Forest and became a starting point of the colonization of the Bavarian and Bohemian Forest.

In old age he gave in 1040 the government of the monastery from which Henry III. handed over to the monastery Niederaltaich. Gunther wandered in the Bohemian Forest and settled in an uninhabited area in the Bavarian rising as a hermit. In his hermitage below the rock Gunther ( Vintířova skala ) at 1006 m high mountain Gunther ( Březník ) at Gutwasser (municipality Hartmanice ) He died on 9 October 1045.

Duke Břetislav I left his mortal remains in the monastery Břevnov transfer.

Gunther is not officially canonized until the present day. His designation as a saint, however, was endorsed and recommended by various papal bulls and decrees. His feast day is October 9th.

Presentation: In Gutwasser and Břevnov Gunther is presented in a frock with book and staff or crosier. In Niederaltaich and Rinchnach to find representations as a monk with a Reuthaue (as in the coat of arms of Rinchnach ).

Others

In Rinchnach - also known as " Guntherort " means - be since the 1950s regularly organizes theater festivals, in which life Gunther is discussed.

The Gunther stone in the Bavarian Forest is named after the saint.