Murbach Abbey
Encyclopedia
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 in Murbach
Murbach
Murbach is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.Murbach Abbey is located near Murbach.-References:*...
, southern Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
, in a valley at the foot of the Grand Ballon
Grand Ballon
Le Grand Ballon is the apex of the Vosges Mountains, located 25 kilometres northwest of Mulhouse, France.Some still call it Ballon de Guebwiller, after the name of the closest city, Guebwiller, located 8 km to the east...
in the Vosges
Vosges
Vosges is a French department, named after the local mountain range. It contains the hometown of Joan of Arc, Domrémy.-History:The Vosges department is one of the original 83 departments of France, created on February 9, 1790 during the French Revolution. It was made of territories that had been...
.
The monastery was founded in 727
727
Year 727 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 727 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Byzantine Empire :* Umayyad troops under Abdallah...
by Eberhard, Count of Alsace
Duchy of Alsace
The Duchy of Alsace was a large political subdivision of the Frankish Empire during the last decade and a half of Merovingian rule. It corresponded to the territory of Alsace and was carved out of southern Austrasia in the last decade of the reign of Dagobert I, probably to stabilise the southern...
, and established as a Benedictine house by Saint Pirmin
Saint Pirmin
Saint Pirmin , also named Pirminius, was a monk, strongly influenced by Celtic Christianity and Saint Amand.-Biography:...
. Its territory once comprised 3 towns and 30 villages. The buildings, including the abbey church, one of the earliest vaulted Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
structures, were laid waste in 1789 during the Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
by the peasantry and the abbey was dissolved shortly afterwards.
Of the Romanesque abbey church, dedicated to Saint Leger
Leodegar
Saint Leodegar or Leger, Bishop of Autun , was the great opponent of Ebroin— the mayor of the Palace of Neustria— and the leader of the faction of Austrasian great nobles in the struggles for hegemony over the waning Merovingian dynasty...
, only 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...
remains with its two towers, and the east end with the quire. On the site of 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...
is now a burial ground. The building is located on the Route Romane d'Alsace
Route Romane d'Alsace
The Route Romane d'Alsace is a touristic itinerary designed by the Association Voix et Route Romane to link both the well-known and the more secret examples of Romanesque architecture of Alsace, in an itinerary of 19 stages, linking churches, abbeys and fortresses, that range from the first...
.
History
The founder of the abbey, Count Eberhard, brother of Luitfrid of the EtichonidsEtichonids
The Etichonids were an important noble family, probably of Frankish , Burgundian or Visigothic origin, who rose to dominate the region of Alsace in the Early Middle Ages from the seventh to the tenth centuries....
, brought Bishop Pirmin from Reichenau Abbey on Lake Constance
Lake Constance
Lake Constance is a lake on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps, and consists of three bodies of water: the Obersee , the Untersee , and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein.The lake is situated in Germany, Switzerland and Austria near the Alps...
to build up the religious community, which had previously used the Rule of St. Columbanus and become ill-disciplined. Pirmin solved the difficulty by introducing the Rule of St. Benedict.
Count Eberhard gave the abbey a rich endowment and extensive privileges, including the right of free election of the abbot. The monastery was obliged to have its privileges regularly confirmed and was thus closely dependent on the Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
and the Emperor
Holy 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...
(after 1680 the King of France). Murbach was placed under the patronage of Saint Leger, who had introduced the Benedictine Rule into Burgundy in the 7th century.
The abbey was important politically, and Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
himself took the title "Abbot of Murbach" in 792–93.
By about 850 Murbach had become one of the intellectual centres of the Upper Rhine
Upper Rhine
The Upper Rhine is the section of the Rhine in the Upper Rhine Plain between Basel, Switzerland and Bingen, Germany. The river is marked by Rhine-kilometers 170 to 529 ....
; the library contained about 340 works of theology, grammar and history. At the same time the worldly possessions of the abbey were increasing, thanks to large numbers of gifts. Murbach owned properties and rights in about 350 localities. Most of them were in Alsace, in the Bishoprics of Basle
Bishopric of Basel
The Diocese of Basel is a Roman Catholic diocese in Switzerland .Historically, the bishops of Basel were also secular rulers of the Prince-Bishopric of Basel ....
and Strasbourg. In addition there were properties on the right bank of the Rhine and even 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 ....
. For example, in 805 the Alemannic
Alamanni
The Alamanni, Allemanni, or Alemanni were originally an alliance of Germanic tribes located around the upper Rhine river . One of the earliest references to them is the cognomen Alamannicus assumed by Roman Emperor Caracalla, who ruled the Roman Empire from 211 to 217 and claimed thereby to be...
nobles Egilmar, Focholt, Wanbrecht and Nothicho gave to the abbey their land and a church in the present Grissheim . Further, the abbey acquired the territory of Lucerne
Lucerne
Lucerne is a city in north-central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of that country. Lucerne is the capital of the Canton of Lucerne and the capital of the district of the same name. With a population of about 76,200 people, Lucerne is the most populous city in Central Switzerland, and...
in Switzerland and owned besides a whole series of estates in the Palatinate, near Worms
Worms, Germany
Worms is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Rhine River. At the end of 2004, it had 85,829 inhabitants.Established by the Celts, who called it Borbetomagus, Worms today remains embattled with the cities Trier and Cologne over the title of "Oldest City in Germany." Worms is the only...
and 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...
.
This first period of prosperity ended in 936 with the invasion of Alsace by Hungarians. By the 13th century the abbey had recovered and was able once again to play an important role in Alsace and the region of the Rhine.
Murbach Abbey played an important role in the creation of Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. On April 16, 1291 Rudolf I
Rudolph I of Germany
Rudolph I was King of the Romans from 1273 until his death. He played a vital role in raising the Habsburg dynasty to a leading position among the Imperial feudal dynasties...
bought all the rights over the town of Lucerne
Lucerne
Lucerne is a city in north-central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of that country. Lucerne is the capital of the Canton of Lucerne and the capital of the district of the same name. With a population of about 76,200 people, Lucerne is the most populous city in Central Switzerland, and...
and the abbey estates in Unterwalden
Unterwalden
Unterwalden is the old name of a forest-canton of the Old Swiss Confederacy in central Switzerland, south of Lake Lucerne, consisting of two valleys or Talschaften, now organized as two half-cantons, an upper part, Obwalden, and a lower part, Nidwalden.Unterwalden was one of the three participants...
from Murbach Abbey. The Waldstätte or Forest Communities (Uri
Canton of Uri
Uri is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland and a founding member of the Swiss Confederation. It is located in Central Switzerland. The canton's territory covers the valley of the Reuss River between Lake Lucerne and the St. Gotthard Pass. German is the primary language spoken in Uri...
, Schwyz
Canton of Schwyz
Schwyz is a canton in central Switzerland between the Alps in the south, Lake Lucerne in the east and Lake Zurich in the north, centered around and named after the town of Schwyz....
and Unterwalden
Unterwalden
Unterwalden is the old name of a forest-canton of the Old Swiss Confederacy in central Switzerland, south of Lake Lucerne, consisting of two valleys or Talschaften, now organized as two half-cantons, an upper part, Obwalden, and a lower part, Nidwalden.Unterwalden was one of the three participants...
) saw their trade route over Lake Lucerne
Lake Lucerne
Lake Lucerne is a lake in central Switzerland and the fourth largest in the country.The lake has a complicated shape, with bends and arms reaching from the city of Lucerne into the mountains. It has a total area of 114 km² , an elevation of 434 m , and a maximum depth of 214 m . Its volume is 11.8...
cut off and feared losing their independence. When Rudolph died on July 15, 1291 the Communities prepared to defend themselves. On August 1, 1291 an Everlasting League
Federal Charter of 1291
The Federal Charter or Letter of Alliance documents the Eternal Alliance or League Of The Three Forest Cantons , the union of three cantons in what is now central Switzerland. It is dated in early August, 1291 and initiates the current August 1 national Swiss holiday. This agreement cites a...
was made between the Forest Communities for mutual defense against a common enemy. This league formed the nucleus around which the modern country of Switzerland grew.
From the 14th century the abbey began gradually to decline in influence. In the 15th and 16th centuries Murbach was a principality, and between 1680 and 1789 was enmeshed in the tensions between the King of France and the Empire. In 1764 the monks gave up the Benedictine Rule and the monastery became a collegiate foundation for members of the nobility . In 1789 the French Revolution and the rioting peasants gave the abbey its death blow.
Prince-Abbots
- about 1185: Conrad von Eschenbach
- 1286-1298 Berchtold von Falkenstein
- 1542-1570: Johann Rudolph Stoer von Stoerenberg
- 1570-1587: Johann Ulrich von Raitenau
- 1587-1587: Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau
- 1587-1600: Andreas von Österreich (also Bishop of Konstanz and BrixenBrixenBrixen is the name of two cities in the Alps:*Brixen, South Tyrol, Italy*Brixen im Thale, Tyrol, AustriaBrixen may also refer to:*Bishopric of Brixen, the former north-Italian state....
) - 1600- ? : Columban van Andlau
- 1614-1625: Leopold V, Archduke of AustriaLeopold V, Archduke of AustriaLeopold V, Archduke of Further Austria was the son of Archduke Archduke Charles II of Inner Austria, and the younger brother of Emperor Ferdinand II, father of Ferdinand Charles, Archduke of Further Austria...
(also Bishop of PassauBishop of PassauThe Diocese of Passau is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic church in Germany. It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of München und Freising. The diocese covers an area of 5,442 km². The current bishop is Wilhelm Schraml.-History:...
and StrasbourgArchbishopric of Strasbourg- External links :* *...
) - 1626-1662: Leopold Wilhelm of AustriaArchduke Leopold Wilhelm of AustriaArchduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria was an Austrian military commander, Governor of the Spanish Netherlands from 1647 to 1656, and a patron of the arts.-Biography:...
(also Bishop of Passau and Strasbourg) - 1663-1682: Francis Egon of FürstenbergFranz Egon of FürstenbergFranz Egon of Fürstenberg , bishop of Strasbourg, was the elder son of Egon VIII of Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg , who served with distinction as a Bavarian general in the Thirty Years' War....
(also Bishop of Strasbourg) - 1681-1686: Felix Egon von Fürstenberg (Administrator)
- 1686-1720: Philipp Eberhard von Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rochefort
- 1720-1736: Célestin von Beroldingen
- 1736-1756: François-Armand de RohanArmand de Rohan-SoubiseFrançois Armand de Rohan, cardinal de Soubise, prince de Tournon, prince de Rohan was a French churchman. He was great-nephew of his predecessor Armand Gaston Maximilien de Rohan, for whom he was coadjutor, and brother of Charles de Rohan, prince de Soubise...
(also Bishop of Strasbourg) - 1756-1786: Kasimir Friedrich von Rathsamhausen
- 1786-1789: Benedikt Friedrich von Andlau-Homburg (Benoît-Frédéric van Andlau-Hombourg)