Drübeck Abbey
Encyclopedia
Drübeck Abbey is a former Benedictine
monastery
for nun
s in Drübeck
on the northern edge of the Harz
in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt
. Today it is a conference venue for the Evangelical Church of the Church Province of Saxony
with an educational-theological institute and pastoral
centre.
Otto I
, dated 10 September 960, is seen as the first confirmed record of the Drubechi Abbey.
In 995, Emperor Otto III
confirmed the election of "free" abbess
es (i.e., without imperial or episcopal
oversight) and thus the special legal position of the abbey. This meant that during the 10th century the foundation enjoyed privileges like those of the Imperial Abbeys in Gandersheim
and Quedlinburg
.
During the turmoil of the Protestant Reformation
, the German Peasants' War
and the Thirty Years War, monastic life died out. At the end of the 17th century the abbey buildings were transferred to the Counts of Stolberg-Wernigerode, who established an evangelical convent there in 1732. At the request of the last abbess, Countess Magdalena of Stolberg-Wernigerode
, the Evangelical Church Province of Saxony took over the abbey in 1946 as a convalescent home and conference centre.
it emerges that either a new monastery was erected or a major renovation had taken place. It was designed as a flat-roofed church with three double bays
and simple alternation of piers
and column
s (Stützenwechsel) in the nave
. Even today the walls of the central nave, five columns with Ottonian
capitals
and the southern wing of the transept
retain this structure.
In very recent times new excavations have taken place, which have revealed the northern aisle that had been lost around 1660, as well as part of an angular foundation in the area of the transept. This could have belonged to a previous building.
In the 12th century extensive modifications were carried out: the imposing west transom with its two towers was built, the church was arched and the tiered stalls added.
During the peasants' war the building was badly damaged. In 1599 a fire was started by a band of robbers, whose ringleader was never captured. After makeshift repairs, more modifications were carried out during the Baroque
era.
In the 20th century attempts have been made to recover the original structure in places and the crypt was re-opened to its halfway point. The abbey buildings are part of the Romanesque Road, a tourist route in Saxony-Anhalt.
. She is believed to be the sister of the two founders of the abbey, Theti and Wikker.
Around 1730, as part of this renovation, a lime tree
was planted in the abbey courtyard. This "abbey lime" - almost 300 years old - is now a natural monument
for the district of Harz.
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
for nun
Nun
A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
s in Drübeck
Drübeck
Drübeck is a village and a former municipality in the district of Harz, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 July 2009, it is part of the town Ilsenburg.- Abbey :...
on the northern edge of the Harz
Harz
The Harz is the highest mountain range in northern Germany and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The name Harz derives from the Middle High German word Hardt or Hart , latinized as Hercynia. The legendary Brocken is the highest summit in the Harz...
in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt is a landlocked state of Germany. Its capital is Magdeburg and it is surrounded by the German states of Lower Saxony, Brandenburg, Saxony, and Thuringia.Saxony-Anhalt covers an area of...
. Today it is a conference venue for the Evangelical Church of the Church Province of Saxony
Evangelical Church of the Church Province of Saxony
The Evangelical Church of the Church Province of Saxony was the most important Protestant denomination in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. As a united Protestant church, it combined both Lutheran and Reformed traditions...
with an educational-theological institute and pastoral
Pastoral
The adjective pastoral refers to the lifestyle of pastoralists, such as shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasturage. It also refers to a genre in literature, art or music that depicts such shepherd life in an...
centre.
History
The Abbey of Drübeck was supposedly mentioned for the first time in a document dated 26 January 877. However, this has been exposed as a forgery. Thus a deed by the Holy Roman EmperorHoly Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...
Otto I
Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor
Otto I the Great , son of Henry I the Fowler and Matilda of Ringelheim, was Duke of Saxony, King of Germany, King of Italy, and "the first of the Germans to be called the emperor of Italy" according to Arnulf of Milan...
, dated 10 September 960, is seen as the first confirmed record of the Drubechi Abbey.
In 995, Emperor Otto III
Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor
Otto III , a King of Germany, was the fourth ruler of the Saxon or Ottonian dynasty of the Holy Roman Empire. He was elected King in 983 on the death of his father Otto II and was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 996.-Early reign:...
confirmed the election of "free" abbess
Abbess
An abbess is the female superior, or mother superior, of a community of nuns, often an abbey....
es (i.e., without imperial or episcopal
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
oversight) and thus the special legal position of the abbey. This meant that during the 10th century the foundation enjoyed privileges like those of the Imperial Abbeys in Gandersheim
Gandersheim Abbey
Gandersheim Abbey is a former house of secular canonesses in the present town of Bad Gandersheim in Lower Saxony, Germany. It was founded in 852 by Duke Liudolf of Saxony, progenitor of the Liudolfing or Ottonian dynasty, whose rich endowments ensured its stability and prosperity.The "Imperial...
and Quedlinburg
Quedlinburg Abbey
Quedlinburg Abbey was a house of secular canonesses in Quedlinburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It was founded in 936 on the initiative of Saint Mathilda, the widow of Henry the Fowler, as his memorial...
.
During the turmoil of the Protestant Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
, the German Peasants' War
German Peasants' War
The German Peasants' War or Great Peasants' Revolt was a widespread popular revolt in the German-speaking areas of Central Europe, 1524–1526. At its height in the spring and summer of 1525, the conflict involved an estimated 300,000 peasants: contemporary estimates put the dead at 100,000...
and the Thirty Years War, monastic life died out. At the end of the 17th century the abbey buildings were transferred to the Counts of Stolberg-Wernigerode, who established an evangelical convent there in 1732. At the request of the last abbess, Countess Magdalena of Stolberg-Wernigerode
Stolberg-Wernigerode
The Principality of Stolberg-Wernigerode was a county of the Holy Roman Empire located in the Harz region around Wernigerode, now part of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.-History:...
, the Evangelical Church Province of Saxony took over the abbey in 1946 as a convalescent home and conference centre.
Construction
The earliest record of its construction dates to 1 August 1004. From a deed signed by Emperor Henry IIHenry II, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry II , also referred to as Saint Henry, Obl.S.B., was the fifth and last Holy Roman Emperor of the Ottonian dynasty, from his coronation in Rome in 1014 until his death a decade later. He was crowned King of the Germans in 1002 and King of Italy in 1004...
it emerges that either a new monastery was erected or a major renovation had taken place. It was designed as a flat-roofed church with three double bays
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
and simple alternation of piers
Pier (architecture)
In architecture, a pier is an upright support for a superstructure, such as an arch or bridge. Sections of wall between openings function as piers. The simplest cross section of the pier is square, or rectangular, although other shapes are also common, such as the richly articulated piers of Donato...
and column
Column
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a vertical structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. For the purpose of wind or earthquake engineering, columns may be designed to resist lateral forces...
s (Stützenwechsel) in the nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
. Even today the walls of the central nave, five columns with Ottonian
Ottonian
The Ottonian dynasty was a dynasty of Germanic Kings , named after its first emperor but also known as the Saxon dynasty after the family's origin. The family itself is also sometimes known as the Liudolfings, after its earliest known member Liudolf and one of its primary leading-names...
capitals
Capital (architecture)
In architecture the capital forms the topmost member of a column . It mediates between the column and the load thrusting down upon it, broadening the area of the column's supporting surface...
and the southern wing of the transept
Transept
For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture...
retain this structure.
In very recent times new excavations have taken place, which have revealed the northern aisle that had been lost around 1660, as well as part of an angular foundation in the area of the transept. This could have belonged to a previous building.
In the 12th century extensive modifications were carried out: the imposing west transom with its two towers was built, the church was arched and the tiered stalls added.
During the peasants' war the building was badly damaged. In 1599 a fire was started by a band of robbers, whose ringleader was never captured. After makeshift repairs, more modifications were carried out during the Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
era.
In the 20th century attempts have been made to recover the original structure in places and the crypt was re-opened to its halfway point. The abbey buildings are part of the Romanesque Road, a tourist route in Saxony-Anhalt.
Grave slab of St. Adelbrin (d. ca. 900)
Adelbrin was the legendary first abbess of the monastery. The non-contemporary grave monument is preserved in the crypt of the church which is accessible from the outside. It is sandstone grave slab engraved with figures and leaning against a wall. The narrow side leans on a plain grave slab. Adelbrin was the legendary founder of the abbey and a saintSaint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
. She is believed to be the sister of the two founders of the abbey, Theti and Wikker.
Gardens
The abbey gardens are part of the tourist project "Dream Gardens - Historic Parks in Saxony-Anhalt". The present external area was recreated in Anhalt based on a plan drawn by J. A. Dieckmann in 1737. Following the abbey's acquisition at that time by the Counts of Stolberg-Wernigerode, the courtyard and gardens were relaid. As part of this the convent gardens with their prayer houses and the abbess's gardens were established; these remain part of the garden scenery even today.Around 1730, as part of this renovation, a lime tree
Tilia platyphyllos
Tilia platyphyllos is a deciduous tree native to much of Europe, including locally in southwestern Great Britain, growing on lime-rich soils. The common name Large-leaved Linden is in standard use throughout the English-speaking world except in Britain, where it has largely been replaced by the...
was planted in the abbey courtyard. This "abbey lime" - almost 300 years old - is now a natural monument
Natural Monument
A natural monument is a natural or natural/cultural feature of outstanding or unique value because of its inherent rarity, representative of aesthetic qualities or cultural significance....
for the district of Harz.
Sources
- Eduard Jacobs: Urkundenbuch des in der Grafschaft Wernigerode belegenen Klosters Drübeck vom Jahr 877 – 1594 Halle, Verlag d. Buchhandlung d. Waisenhauses, 1874 (= Geschichtsquellen der Provinz Sachsen and angrenzender Gebiete, Bd. 5)
- Gartenträume - Historische Parks in Sachsen-Anhalt, Denkmalpflegerisches and touristisches Gesamtkonzept sowie infrastrukturelle Rahmenplanung, Magdeburg – Rehsen 2001 (PDF-File; 2,16 MB)
Literature
- Berent SchwineköperBerent SchwineköperBerent Schwineköper was a German archivist and historian.Born in Magdeburg, Prussian Saxony, Schwineköper was the son of an apothecary. At the universities of Göttingen, Vienna, and Freiburg, Schwineköper studied history, German studies, art history, and historical auxiliary sciences...
(Hrsg.): Provinz Sachsen Anhalt. In: Handbuch der Historischen Stätten Deutschlands. Band 11, Stuttgart 1987, ISBN 3520314029 - Annett Laube-Rosenpflanzer ; Lutz Rosenpflanzer: Kirchen, Klöster, Königshöfe : vorromanische Architektur zwischen Weser and Elbe, S. 147ff., Halle 2007, ISBN 3898124991
External links
- Website of the Abbey, "History" http://tagungsstaette.kloster-druebeck.de/Unser-Kloster/klostergeschichte.php{de}