Hasungen Abbey
Encyclopedia
Hasungen Abbey was a monastery of the Benedictine Order located at Burghasungen, now a part of Zierenberg
in Hesse
in Germany
.
The site is at the top of a 480 metre high basalt
mountain, the Hasunger Berg. In 1074 a monastery was built, on the authority of Siegfried I, Archbishop of Mainz
, over the grave of the hermit Heimerad
(d. 1019), who had had a little chapel and hermitage here.
The historian Lambert of Hersfeld
(d. circa 1088) was possibly abbot of Hasungen towards the end of his life.
The monastery existed until the Reformation
, introduced in Hesse in 1527 by Philipp I of Hesse. Until then the abbey had been a centre of pilgrimage because of Heimerad, commonly venerated as a saint.
After the Reformation the buildings fell into ruins, except for the tower of the abbey church, which however in 1876 a bolt of lightning struck and destroyed. Now only a few stones remain.
Zierenberg
Zierenberg is a town in the district of Kassel, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 19 km east of Bad Arolsen, and 15 km northwest of Kassel on the German Framework Road.-External links:*...
in Hesse
Hesse
Hesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...
in 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...
.
The site is at the top of a 480 metre high basalt
Basalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
mountain, the Hasunger Berg. In 1074 a monastery was built, on the authority of Siegfried I, Archbishop of Mainz
Siegfried I, Archbishop of Mainz
Siegfried I was the Abbot of Fulda from 25 December 1058 until he became Archbishop of Mainz in 6 January 1060.Siegfried was a member of the Frankish Reginbodonen family of the Rhineland. His family furnished counts in the Königssondergau and burgraves and vogts of Mainz. Siegfried was educated in...
, over the grave of the hermit Heimerad
Heimerad
Saint Heimerad was a German priest and travelling preacher, popularly revered as a holy fool.-Life:Born of unfree parents, Heimerad undertook pilgrimages in Germany, Italy and Palestine...
(d. 1019), who had had a little chapel and hermitage here.
The historian Lambert of Hersfeld
Lambert of Hersfeld
Lambert of Hersfeld was a medieval chronicler, probably a Thuringian by birth. His work represents a major source for the history of Germany and the Holy Roman Empire in the eleventh century....
(d. circa 1088) was possibly abbot of Hasungen towards the end of his life.
The monastery existed until 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...
, introduced in Hesse in 1527 by Philipp I of Hesse. Until then the abbey had been a centre of pilgrimage because of Heimerad, commonly venerated as a saint.
After the Reformation the buildings fell into ruins, except for the tower of the abbey church, which however in 1876 a bolt of lightning struck and destroyed. Now only a few stones remain.