Schönau Abbey

Daughter monasteries

Bebenhausen ( 1190 )

Schönau Abbey in the village of Schönau im Odenwald was founded in 1142 as a Cistercian monastery of Eberbach Monastery and existed until its repeal by the Reformation, 1558th It was after Maulbronn as the most important monastery of the Palatinate. Apart from a few remains of the powerful monastery church only the striking monastery gate and called Mr. refectory have received from the great convention facility, which now serves as a Protestant church. The place Schönau developed by the subsequent settlement of refugees to 1600 to the city.

History

Schönau Abbey was founded by the Diocese of Worms or its Kloster Eberbach in 1142. Worms had the southern Odenwald already owned since 1012 had, however, in part, to various noblemen. Under Bishop Buggo ( Burchard II ) the municipal area of the monastery in 1142 and came back directly to Worms and there followed the founding of the monastery. The Cistercians were Buggo of the broad valley floor in the Steinachtals and south adjacent woodland, which was considerably enlarged in 1172 by bishop Konrad II. First, there were probably temporary wooden structures, which were replaced in 1200 by surrounded by a circular wall massive building.

In 1169 there was the monastery under imperial patronage, the patronage of the Count Palatine came in their place even in the 12th century at the Rhine, whose home monastery, popular residence and grave lay the monastery was. The Palatine helped the monastery also to overcome an economic crisis in the 14th century.

The monastery was designed according to the usual scheme of the Cistercian monastery: the 84 -meter-long church was oriented to the east, south because the rectangular cloister followed, the west was the Konversenhaus beige provides for worldly brothers. The south wing of the cloister leading to the dining room (now the Evangelical City Church ) with attached kitchen. Opposite the dining room there was a fountain hall. The chapter house closed to the east wing of the cloister with overlying monks' dormitory, to the east of the infirmary. From 1275 also was still a hospital.

In the 13th century there were about 300 monks in the monastery of Schönau and was next to the monastery Maulbronn as the most important monastery of the Palatinate. From Schönau from the daughter Bebenhausen was founded in 1190. Had the respective abbot of Schönau after its founding in 1386, the supervision of the College of St. Jakob study in Heidelberg, which visited all the South German Cistercian students. In addition, the monastery Ramsen, the monastery and the monastery Neuburg Praise field were under the temporary Schönau Dept.

The possession of the monastery was built mainly through gifts in the 12th and 13th century and stretched from Hirschhorn west to beyond the Rhine and north in the Frankfurt area. The monastery had town houses in Heidelberg, Speyer, Worms and Frankfurt am Main. The Frankfurt external possession was abandoned in the 15th century, but the monastery was able in 1480 to purchase the provost Wiesbach.

During the Reformation, the monastery was abolished in 1558 by Elector Otto Heinrich. The existing to this day care Schoenau took over the administration of the estate and the manorial rights. The care was the agricultural land of at Hofbauern and settled in 1562 Calvinist religious refugees from Wallonia (then Spanish Netherlands ) in the monastery at, which developed the Schönau to 1600 to the city. While drawing the settlers in 1562 expressly preserving the monasteries have been prescribed, but found to 1583 already numerous alterations and demolitions take place, so that the monastery was rising rapidly in the developing town center and only fragments have been preserved.

The history of the Cistercian abbey of Schönau is insufficiently explored. The main reason is that to date no complete document book of the monastery there. Who wants to deal with the history of the abbey, must rely on a document book of the 18th century ( Gudenus ), which contains most of the records of 1142 up to 1300. More Schönau certificates were printed in the 19th century in the " Journal of the History of the Upper Rhine ." The documents of the 14th, 15th and 16th century, however, are unpublished to this day - despite the proximity Schönaus to Heidelberg and its famous university.

Basic research on the history Schönaus come from Maximilian Huffschmid, Robert Edelmaier and Meinrad Schaab (see literature). In particular, the monograph Schaabs from the 1960s is still used, even though the book is of course a bit outdated, contains errors, does not take into account major sources and also has no register. The Schönau inscriptions were compiled by Renate Neumüllers - Klauser. However, this book from 1970 has long been obsolete, as are dug on the former grounds of the convent to this day constantly new inscriptions.

A chronicle of the monastery of Schönau has unfortunately not survived. However, we are aware of many events of the early history of the monastery by hagiographic certificates. Above all, the history of St. Hildegund of Schönau, a young woman who lived incognito as a novice Joseph in the monastery in the 12th century, was enthusiastically taken up by the Vitenschreibern and poets of the late 12th and early 13th century. A total of five times that substance has been processed, including by Caesarius of Heisterbach. Another important event, the famous " boots revolt " Schönau lay brothers, Conrad of Eberbach reported. Also in the biography of the late Eberhard Kumbd of the Cistercian monastery in the Odenwald plays an important role: Eberhard, a servant of the Count Palatine Conrad of Swabia, tried three times unsuccessfully to be included in the monastery. In addition, Schönau is mentioned frequently in the " Dialogus miraculorum " of Caesarius. The most important events of the early history Schönaus were held in the 16th century as underlaid with Latin verses drawings. From Schönau further few occasional poems (mainly epitaphs ) have survived. The manuscripts of the monastery are located for the most part since the 17th century in the Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana in Rome.

Museum of Cultural History Hühnerfautei

In December 2008, the Museum of Cultural History Hühnerfautei was inaugurated in Schoenau solemnly, in the basis of numerous finds the story of the Cistercian monastery is displayed.

Personalities who were active in the Schönau Monastery

• Abbot Daniel, is revered as Seliger (June 27 )
• Hildegund of Neuss, pretended to be a man and died during the Noviziatsjahrs 1188 in Schoenau, is venerated as a saint ( April 20 )

Figures that were placed in the Schönau Monastery to the grave

• Bishop Buggo ( Burchard II ) of Worms ( † 1149 )
• Dieter von Katzenelenbogen, Chancellor of the Emperor Henry VI. ( HRR )
• Count Palatine Conrad of Hohenstaufen († 1195) and his son of the same
• Countess Palatine Irmgard von Henneberg († 1197 ), wife of Conrad of Hohenstaufen
• Count Palatine Henry ( IV.) the Younger of Brunswick († 1214 )
• Conrad II of giant mountain ( † 1249 ), 1221-1246 Bishop of Hildesheim, († December 18, 1249 )
• Count Palatine Adolf ( † 1327 )
• Prince Elector Ruprecht II († 1398 )
• Countess Palatine Beatrice of Sicily -Aragon († October 12, 1365 ), Wife Ruprecht II of the Palatinate and daughter of King Peter II of Sicily.
• To 1503 to the Present Erbach

Attractions

• The monastery's ( 1200 )
• The ruins of the monastery church (around 1230): You can see the semi-circular niches in the side chapels in the north transept of the abbey church and the uncovered foundations of the west portal of the monastery church only at an excavation site.
• The " Hühnerfautei " ( 1250 )
• The two-aisled former manor refectory
• The " Walloons house," the made-up in 1558 by the Walloons former Klosterschmiede
• The " Marktplatzbrunnen " fountain bowl (large basin; lavatorium ) from the well-house of the monastery
• The residence of the abbot, in the east direction Greiner valley, access Obere Gasse, over 200 years later used as a forester's house ( Evangelische Stiftung care Schönau ) with forest garden and the former fishpond of the Cistercians. The forest garden is still partially surrounded by remnants of the former city wall.