Ettal Abbey
Encyclopedia
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...
in the village of Ettal
Ettal
Ettal is a German municipality in the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in Bavaria.-Geography:Ettal is situated in the Oberland area in the Graswangtal between the Loisachtal and Ammertal, approx. 10 km north of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the district capital, and approx...
close to Oberammergau
Oberammergau
Oberammergau is a municipality in the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in Bavaria, Germany. The town is famous for its production of a Passion Play, its woodcarvers, and the NATO School.-Passion Play:...
and Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Garmisch-Partenkirchen is a mountain resort town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in the Oberbayern region, and the district is on the border with Austria...
in Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
, 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...
. With a community (as of 2005) of more than 50 monks, with another five at Wechselburg, the Abbey is one of the largest Benedictine houses and is a major attraction for visitors.
Middle Ages and Early Modern period
Ettal Abbey was founded on 28 April 1330, Saint Vitalis of MilanVitalis of Milan
Saint Vitalis of Milan, known as San Vitale in Italian and Saint Vital in French, was an early Christian martyr.-Biography:Vitalis was a wealthy citizen of Milan, perhaps a soldier. He was married to Saint Valeria, and they were the parents of the perhaps legendary Saints Gervasius and Protasius...
's day, by Emperor Ludwig the Bavarian
Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Louis IV , called the Bavarian, of the house of Wittelsbach, was the King of Germany from 1314, the King of Italy from 1327 and the Holy Roman Emperor from 1328....
in the Graswang valley, in fulfilment of an oath on his return from Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, on a site of strategic importance on the primary trade route between Italy and Augsburg
Augsburg
Augsburg is a city in the south-west of Bavaria, Germany. It is a university town and home of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben and the Bezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is an urban district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is, as of 2008, the third-largest city in Bavaria with a...
. The foundation legend is that Ludwig's horse genuflected three times on the site of the original church building, where a statuette of the Virgin Mary ("Frau Stifterin" or the "Ettal Madonna") of the Pisano
Pisano
Pisano is the name of several notable people:*Andrea Pisano , Italian sculptor and architect*Bernardo Pisano , Italian composer of the early 16th century...
School now stands, a gift from Ludwig to his new foundation. This statue soon became an object of pilgrimage. The church is dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin.
The foundation originally consisted of a Benedictine double monastery - a community for men and another for women - and also a house of the Teutonic Knights
Teutonic Knights
The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem , commonly the Teutonic Order , is a German medieval military order, in modern times a purely religious Catholic order...
.
The original Gothic abbey church, built between 1330 and 1370, was a modest structure in comparison to the great churches of mediaeval Bavaria.
The abbey suffered great damage during the 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...
at the hands of the troops of Maurice of Saxony, but survived the troubles of the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
(1618–1648).
Baroque expansion
In 1709, under Abbot Placidus II Seiz, the golden age of Ettal began with the establishment of the "Knights' Academy" ("Ritterakademie"), which developed into a highly successful school and began the educational tradition of the abbey. In 1744, the abbey and the abbey church were largely destroyed in a fire. The subsequent spectacular re-building in the BaroqueBaroque
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...
style, with a double-shelled dome, was to the plans of Enrico Zuccalli
Enrico Zuccalli
Enrico Zuccalli, was a Swiss architect who worked for the Wittelsbach regents of Bavaria and Cologne....
, a Swiss-Italian architect working in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, who had studied with Bernini. The decoration was primarily carried out by Josef Schmutzer of the Wessobrunn School
Wessobrunn Abbey
Wessobrunn Abbey was a Benedictine monastery near Weilheim in Bavaria, Germany.It is celebrated as the home of the famous Wessobrunn Prayer and also of a Baroque school of stucco workers and plasterers in the 18th century....
of stuccoists and Johann Baptist Straub
Johann Baptist Straub
Johann Baptist Straub was a German Rococo sculptor.-Biography:Straub was born in Wiesensteig, into a family of sculptors. His father Johann George Straub and his brothers Philipp Jakob, Joseph, and Johann Georg Straub were also sculptors, as was his nephew Franz Xaver Messerschmidt. J. B...
, who was responsible for the altars and the chancel.
Ettal's importance as a place of pilgrimage grew with the new buildings and it became one of the most important monasteries in the Alpine
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
region.
Secularization
The abbey was dissolved in 1803 during the secularization of church property in Bavaria. The site was acquired in 1809 by Josef von Elbing and sold by his descendants in 1856 to Count Pappenheim. Some small building works were completed during the 19th century, principally the renovation of the façade and the twin bell towers.Second foundation
In 1898, the buildings were acquired by Baron Theodor von Cramer-Klett and, in 1900, given to the Benedictines of Scheyern AbbeyScheyern Abbey
Scheyern Abbey, formerly also Scheyern Priory is a house of the Benedictine Order in Scheyern in Bavaria.-First foundation:...
, who re-founded the monastery here. It has been a member of the Bavarian Congregation
Bavarian Congregation
The Bavarian Congregation is a congregation of the Benedictine Confederation consisting of monasteries in Bavaria, Germany.It was founded on 26 August 1684 by the Blessed Pope Innocent XI .-First Congregation:...
of the Benedictine Confederation
Benedictine Confederation
The Benedictine Confederation of the Order of Saint Benedict is the international governing body of the Order of Saint Benedict.-Origin:...
since 1900. The abbey church of the Ascension was declared a basilica minor in 1920.
During the winter of 1940–1941, the German pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German Lutheran pastor, theologian and martyr. He was a participant in the German resistance movement against Nazism and a founding member of the Confessing Church. He was involved in plans by members of the Abwehr to assassinate Adolf Hitler...
(1906–1945) spent some months at the monastery as the friend and guest of the Abbot. Like Bonhoeffer, a number of those in the Ettal community were involved in the conspiracy against Hitler. While at Ettal, Bonhoeffer also worked on his book Ethics. Catholic priest Rupert Mayer
Rupert Mayer
Rupert Mayer was a Jesuit priest and a leading figure of the Catholic Widerstand in the Third Reich in Munich. In 1987 he was beatified by Pope John Paul II.-Life:...
was kept at the Abbey from 1939 to 1945 by the Nazis to prevent him for further anti-Nazi preaching.
In 1993 Ettal re-founded the former Wechselburg Abbey
Wechselburg Priory
Wechselburg Priory, formerly Wechselburg Abbey is a Benedictine [ priory] in Wechselburg in Saxony, dissolved in the 16th century and re-founded in 1993.-First foundation:...
in Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
, an old monastery of the Augustinian Canons, as a Benedictine priory.
Ettal maintains a Byzantine Institute. The abbot of Ettal, Joannes Hoeck, made a significant contribution on the role of Patriarchs in Church government at the Second Vatican Council.
In early 2010 ten priests at the Ettal Abbey boarding school were accused of sadistic beatings, molestation, or making sexual advances on boys as well as sadism. In March, 2010, authorities raided the monastery as part of a probe into allegations that priests sexually abused children there [CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/03/03/germany.abuse/index.html
[Baroque Church Interior:http://www.alpenhof-kruen.de/f/haus/ettal.jpg
Economy
In the tradition of the Ritterakademie, the abbey established a secondary school ("GymnasiumGymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
") specialising in the humanities and modern languages, with a boarding house. The boarding school and its clergy were charged with sexual and physical child abuse and have been under investigation since 2 March 2010 by the German Federal Prosecutor. The abbot has since resigned.
The monastery runs a brewery, a distillery, a bookstore, an art publishing house, a hotel, a cheese factory joint venture, and several smaller companies. The distillery produces Ettaler Kloster Liqueur, a herbal liqueur which, like that of the Carthusian monks
Chartreuse (liqueur)
Chartreuse is a French liqueur made by the Carthusian Monks since the 1740s. It is composed of distilled alcohol aged with 130 herbal extracts. The liqueur is named after the Monks' Grande Chartreuse monastery, located in the Chartreuse Mountains in the general region of Grenoble in France...
, comes in sweeter yellow and more herbal green varieties.
Abbots
- 1907–1933 Willibald Wolfsteiner
- 1933–1951 Angelus Kupfer
- 1951–1961 Dr Johannes M. Hoeck
- 1961–1973 Dr Karl Gross
- 1973–2005 Dr. Edelbert Hörhammer
- 2005–2010 Barnabas Bögle