All Saints' Abbey (Baden-Württemberg)
Encyclopedia
All Saints' Abbey was a Premonstratensian
Premonstratensian
The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré, also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines, or in Britain and Ireland as the White Canons , are a Catholic religious order of canons regular founded at Prémontré near Laon in 1120 by Saint Norbert, who later became Archbishop of Magdeburg...
monastery near Oppenau
Oppenau
Oppenau is a town located in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It has a population of 5,200 inhabitants.-Geography:Oppenau is situated in the Rench valley in the Black Forest. The nearest major cities are Offenburg and Freudenstadt.-History:...
in the Black Forest
Black Forest
The Black Forest is a wooded mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south. The highest peak is the Feldberg with an elevation of 1,493 metres ....
in Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
History
According to the tradition, the foundation date was 1192, and the site of the building, at 620 metres above sea levelSea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
in the upper valley of the Lierbach
Lierbach
Lierbach is a river of Baden-Württemberg, Germany.-See also:*List of rivers of Baden-Württemberg...
near Oppenau, was determined by a donkey
Donkey
The donkey or ass, Equus africanus asinus, is a domesticated member of the Equidae or horse family. The wild ancestor of the donkey is the African Wild Ass, E...
which threw off a sack of money at this remote and inaccessible spot. In the same year a wooden chapel was built, which was gradually extended to be a Premonstratensian monastery.
In 1196 the foundation charter was issued by Duchess Uta of Schauenburg
Uta of Schauenburg
Uta of Schauenburg was the founder of All Saints' Abbey in Baden-Württemberg. A sovereign countess, she was the daughter of Gotfried von Calw and was one of the richest heiresses in Germany. After her father's death a harsh succession war was solved in her favour by the nephew of her husband Welf...
. In 1200 Philip of Swabia
Philip of Swabia
Philip of Swabia was king of Germany and duke of Swabia, the rival of the emperor Otto IV.-Biography:Philip was the fifth and youngest son of Emperor Frederick I and Beatrice I, Countess of Burgundy, daughter of Renaud III, count of Burgundy, and brother of the emperor Henry VI...
recognised the foundation, and in 1204 Pope Innocent III
Pope Innocent III
Pope Innocent III was Pope from 8 January 1198 until his death. His birth name was Lotario dei Conti di Segni, sometimes anglicised to Lothar of Segni....
confirmed it. The first abbot was Gerung.
In 1248 canons
Canon (priest)
A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....
from All Saints were sent to Lorsch Abbey
Lorsch Abbey
The Abbey of Lorsch is a former Imperial Abbey in Lorsch, Germany, about 10 km east of Worms, one of the most renowned monasteries of the Carolingian Empire. Even in its ruined state, its remains are among the most important pre-Romanesque–Carolingian style buildings in Germany...
to turn it into a Premonstratensian monastery, since when Lorsch was counted as a daughter house of All Saints. Another daughter house was set up at Haguenau
Haguenau
-Economy:The town has a well balanced economy. Centuries of troubled history in the buffer lands between France and Germany have bequeathed to Haguenau a rich historical and cultural heritage which supports a lively tourist trade. There is also a thriving light manufacturing sector centred on the...
. Through various gifts and livings, inter alia at Oberkirch
Oberkirch (Baden)
Oberkirch is a town in Western Baden-Württemberg, Germany about 12 km North-East of Offenburg and belongs to the Ortenaukreis district....
and Oppenau, the monastery grew rapidly and became one of the major religious, cultural and political centres of the region.
In 1657 it was raised to the status of "abbey" by the general chapter of the Premonstratensian Order. In the 18th century it was at the high point of its power. In November 1802 however Margrave Karl Friedrich of Baden
Karl Friedrich, Grand Duke of Baden
Charles Frederick, 1st Grand Duke of Baden was Margrave, elector and later Grand Duke of Baden from 1738 until his death.-Biography:...
dissolved the abbey in the course of secularisation, and took all its possessions.
Large fires, in 1470 and 1555, had already destroyed parts of the premises. In 1804, a last fire, started when a bolt of lightning struck the church tower, finished the job. In 1816 the ruins were sold for demolition and used as a quarry for stone and scrap for churches in the valleys of the Rench
Rench
The Rench is a river in the district of Ortenau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany and a right-side tributary of the Rhine River. Its source is near Kniebis Mountain not far from Bad Griesbach in the Black Forest...
and the Acher
Acher
The Acher is a river in the district of Ortenau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany and a right tributary of the Rhine River. It flows in an eastwesterly direction from the Black Forest toward the Rhine, between the Rench River to the South and the Oos River to the North.Its source is located near the top...
. The altars and saints' figures are to be found in numerous local churches, for example in Bad Peterstal, Oppenau, Ottenhöfen and Achern
Achern
Achern is a city in Western Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located approximately 18 km southwest of Baden-Baden and 19 km northeast of Offenburg...
. Three statues from All Saints' Abbey are above the gateway of the prince's chapel at Lichtenthal Abbey
Lichtenthal Abbey
The Lichtenthal Abbey is a Cistercian nunnery in Lichtenthal in the town of Baden-Baden, Germany.-History and buildings:...
, representing Saint Helena
Helena of Constantinople
Saint Helena also known as Saint Helen, Helena Augusta or Helena of Constantinople was the consort of Emperor Constantius, and the mother of Emperor Constantine I...
, Uta of Schauenburg and Gerung.
Not until the end of the 19th century, when tourism finally reached the Lierbach valley and its waterfalls, were any steps taken to secure what was left of the ruins, which were then put into the condition they are in today.
On a rise above the ruins of the monastery complex is a war memorial for the fallen and deceased members of the Black Forest Society
Schwarzwaldverein
The Schwarzwaldverein, or Black Forest Association, was founded in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany in 1864, making it the oldest German hiking and mountaineering club. The Schwarzwaldverein has almost 90,000 members in 241 local chapters...
(Schwarzwaldverein), raised in 1925 by C.M. Meckel und A. Rickert.
In 1947 the Charitable Union (Caritasverband) of Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
acquired the area round about the monastery ruins and built a convalescent home for children there. Since 1978 this has been used as a country holiday centre for schools. In 1960 the Bishop of Mainz
Bishop of Mainz
The Diocese of Mainz is a diocese of the Catholic church in Germany. It was created in 1802 with the abolition of the old Archbishopric of Mainz. The diocese is suffragan to the Archdiocese of Freiburg; its district is located in the states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse...
built a chapel here that, like the abbey church, is dedicated to the honour of God and All Saints.
Also now on the site are a cafe and a small museum.
Below the ruins are the All Saints' Waterfalls ("Allerheiligen-Wasserfälle").