St. Blaise's Abbey in the Black Forest
Encyclopedia
Sankt Blaise's Abbey in the Black Forest was a Benedictine monastery in the village of St. Blasien in the Black Forest
in Baden-Württemberg
, Germany
.
, known as cella alba (the "white cell"), but the line of development between that and the confirmed existence of St Blaise
's Abbey in the 11th century is unclear. At some point the new foundation would have had to become independent of Rheinau, in which process the shadowy Reginbert of Seldenbüren (died about 962), traditionally named as the founder, may have played some role. The first definite abbot of St Blaise's however was Werner I (1045?–1069). On 8 June 1065 the abbey received a grant of immunity from Emperor Henry IV
, although it had connections to the family of the anti-king Rudolf of Rheinfelden.
Between 1070 and 1073 there seem to have been contacts between St. Blaise's and the active Cluniac abbey of Fruttuaria
in Italy, which led to St. Blaise's following the Fruttuarian reforms, introducing lay-brothers or "conversi" and probably even the reformation of the abbey as a double monastery
for both monks and nuns (the nuns are said to have re-settled to Berau Abbey by 1117).
Bernold of Constance
(ca 1050–1100) in his histories counts St Blaise's alongside Hirsau Abbey
as leading Swabia
n reform monasteries. Other religious houses reformed by, or founded as priories of, St Blaise's were: Muri Abbey
(1082), Ochsenhausen Abbey
(1093), Göttweig Abbey
(1094), Stein am Rhein
Abbey (before 1123) and Prüm Abbey
(1132). It also had significant influence on the abbeys of Alpirsbach
(1099), Ettenheimmünster (1124) and Sulzburg
(ca 1125), and the priories of Weitenau (ca 1100), Bürgeln (before 1130) and Sitzenkirch (ca 1130). A list of prayer partnerships, drawn up about 1150, shows how extensive the connections were between St Blaise's and other religious communities.
During the course of the 12th century however the zeal of the monks cooled, as their attention became increasingly focussed on the acquisition, management and exploitation of their substantial estates, which by the 15th century extended across the whole of the Black Forest
and included not only the abbey's priories named above, but also the nunnery at Gutnau and the livings of Niederrotweil, Schluchsee, Wettelbrunn, Achdorf, Hochemmingen, Todtnau, Efringen, Schönau, Wangen, Plochingen, Nassenbeuren and many others.
(protective lordship) of the Bishops of Basle was shaken off quite early: a charter of the Emperor Henry V
dated 8 January 1125 confirms that the abbey possessed imperial protection and free election of their Vogt
. Nevertheless, the office afterwards became a possession of the Zähringer, and after their extinction in 1218, was held at Imperial will and gift under the Emperor Frederick II
. While this may well have preserved a certain bond with the Emperor, there seems to have been no question of St Blaise's having the status of a "Reichskloster".
From the mid-13th century the Vögte were the Habsburg
s and this drew St. Blaise's increasingly into the Austria
n sphere of influence. The ties to the Empire remained, however: the abbey was named between 1422 and 1521 in the lists of imperial territories and the Swabian Circle
tried in vain in 1549 to claim St Blaise's as an imperial abbey. The four imperial lordships which St Blaise's had acquired by the end of the 13th century — Blumegg, Bettmaringen, Gutenburg and Berauer Berg — in fact formed the nucleus of the reichsunmittelbar lordship of Bonndorf
, constituted in 1609, from which the Prince-Abbot
s derived their status in the Holy Roman Empire
.
in Austria
, where they settled in 1809.
From 1934, the remaining buildings have been occupied by the well-known Jesuit college, the Kolleg St. Blasien
.
round church by the architect Pierre Michel d'Ixnard, with an enormous dome 46 metres across and 63 metres high (the third-largest in Europe north of the Alps
), during the years up to 1781 under the Prince-Abbot Martin Gerbert
. It remains as the Dom St Blasius, or "St Blaise's Cathedral" (so called because of its size and magnificence, not because it is a cathedral in any ecclesiastiacal or administrative sense). The effects of another catastrophic fire in 1874 were only finally remedied in the 1980s.
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...
.
9th–12th centuries
The early history of the abbey is obscure. Its predecessor in the 9th century is supposed to have been a cell of Rheinau AbbeyRheinau Abbey
Rheinau Abbey was a Benedictine monastery in Rheinau in the Canton of Zürich, Switzerland, founded in about 778 and suppressed in 1862.-History:...
, known as cella alba (the "white cell"), but the line of development between that and the confirmed existence of St Blaise
Saint Blaise
Saint Blaise was a physician, and bishop of Sebastea . According to his Acta Sanctorum, he was martyred by being beaten, attacked with iron carding combs, and beheaded...
's Abbey in the 11th century is unclear. At some point the new foundation would have had to become independent of Rheinau, in which process the shadowy Reginbert of Seldenbüren (died about 962), traditionally named as the founder, may have played some role. The first definite abbot of St Blaise's however was Werner I (1045?–1069). On 8 June 1065 the abbey received a grant of immunity from Emperor Henry IV
Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry IV was King of the Romans from 1056 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1084 until his forced abdication in 1105. He was the third emperor of the Salian dynasty and one of the most powerful and important figures of the 11th century...
, although it had connections to the family of the anti-king Rudolf of Rheinfelden.
Between 1070 and 1073 there seem to have been contacts between St. Blaise's and the active Cluniac abbey of Fruttuaria
Fruttuaria
thumb|300px|Bell tower of the abbey.Fruttuaria is an abbey in the territory of San Benigno Canavese, about twenty kilometers north of Turin, northern Italy.-History:...
in Italy, which led to St. Blaise's following the Fruttuarian reforms, introducing lay-brothers or "conversi" and probably even the reformation of the abbey as a double monastery
Double monastery
A double monastery is an institution combining a separate monastery for monks and an abbey for nuns. Examples include Coldingham Monastery in Scotland, and Einsiedeln Abbey and Fahr Abbey in Switzerland, controlled by the abbot of Einsiedeln...
for both monks and nuns (the nuns are said to have re-settled to Berau Abbey by 1117).
Bernold of Constance
Bernold of Constance
Bernold of Constance was a chronicler and writer of tracts, and a defender of the Church reforms of Pope Gregory VII.-Life:...
(ca 1050–1100) in his histories counts St Blaise's alongside Hirsau Abbey
Hirsau Abbey
Hirsau Abbey, formerly known as Hirschau Abbey, was once one of the most prominent Benedictine abbeys of Germany. It was located in the town of Hirsau, in the Diocese of Speyer, near Calw in the present Baden-Württemberg.-History:...
as leading Swabia
Swabia
Swabia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany.-Geography:Like many cultural regions of Europe, Swabia's borders are not clearly defined...
n reform monasteries. Other religious houses reformed by, or founded as priories of, St Blaise's were: Muri Abbey
Muri Abbey
Muri Abbey was a Benedictine monastery dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours. It flourished for over eight centuries at Muri, in the Canton of Aargau, near Basle in Switzerland...
(1082), Ochsenhausen Abbey
Ochsenhausen Abbey
Ochsenhausen Abbey was a Benedictine monastery in Ochsenhausen in the district of Biberach in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.- History :...
(1093), Göttweig Abbey
Göttweig Abbey
Göttweig Abbey is a Benedictine monastery near Krems in Lower Austria.-History:Göttweig Abbey was founded as a monastery of canons regular by Blessed Altmann, Bishop of Passau...
(1094), Stein am Rhein
Stein am Rhein
Stein am Rhein is a municipality in the canton of Schaffhausen in Switzerland.The town has a well-preserved medieval centre, retaining the ancient street plan. The site of the city wall, and the city gates are preserved, though the former city wall now consists of houses...
Abbey (before 1123) and Prüm Abbey
Prüm Abbey
Prüm Abbey is a former Benedictine abbey in Prüm/Lorraine, now in the diocese of Trier , founded by a Frankish widow Bertrada, and her son Charibert, count of Laon, on 23 June 720. The first abbot was Angloardus....
(1132). It also had significant influence on the abbeys of Alpirsbach
Alpirsbach Abbey
Alpirsbach Abbey was a house of the Benedictine Order located at Alpirsbach in Baden-Württemberg in Germany....
(1099), Ettenheimmünster (1124) and Sulzburg
Sulzburg
Sulzburg is a town in the district Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated on the western slope of the Black Forest, 20 km southwest of Freiburg.Sulzburg's lovely, barrel-vaulted synagogue has been completely restored....
(ca 1125), and the priories of Weitenau (ca 1100), Bürgeln (before 1130) and Sitzenkirch (ca 1130). A list of prayer partnerships, drawn up about 1150, shows how extensive the connections were between St Blaise's and other religious communities.
During the course of the 12th century however the zeal of the monks cooled, as their attention became increasingly focussed on the acquisition, management and exploitation of their substantial estates, which by the 15th century extended across the whole of 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 ....
and included not only the abbey's priories named above, but also the nunnery at Gutnau and the livings of Niederrotweil, Schluchsee, Wettelbrunn, Achdorf, Hochemmingen, Todtnau, Efringen, Schönau, Wangen, Plochingen, Nassenbeuren and many others.
13th–17th centuries
The original VogteiVogtei
Vogtei could be:* The residenz or domain of a Vogt* Vogtei , a municipal association in the Unstrut-Hainich district of Thuringia, Germany....
(protective lordship) of the Bishops of Basle was shaken off quite early: a charter of the Emperor Henry V
Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry V was King of Germany and Holy Roman Emperor , the fourth and last ruler of the Salian dynasty. Henry's reign coincided with the final phase of the great Investiture Controversy, which had pitted pope against emperor...
dated 8 January 1125 confirms that the abbey possessed imperial protection and free election of their Vogt
Vogt
A Vogt ; plural Vögte; Dutch voogd; Danish foged; ; ultimately from Latin [ad]vocatus) in the Holy Roman Empire was the German title of a reeve or advocate, an overlord exerting guardianship or military protection as well as secular justice...
. Nevertheless, the office afterwards became a possession of the Zähringer, and after their extinction in 1218, was held at Imperial will and gift under the Emperor Frederick II
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick II , was one of the most powerful Holy Roman Emperors of the Middle Ages and head of the House of Hohenstaufen. His political and cultural ambitions, based in Sicily and stretching through Italy to Germany, and even to Jerusalem, were enormous...
. While this may well have preserved a certain bond with the Emperor, there seems to have been no question of St Blaise's having the status of a "Reichskloster".
From the mid-13th century the Vögte were the Habsburg
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...
s and this drew St. Blaise's increasingly into the Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n sphere of influence. The ties to the Empire remained, however: the abbey was named between 1422 and 1521 in the lists of imperial territories and the Swabian Circle
Swabian Circle
The Swabian Circle was an Imperial Circle of the Holy Roman Empire established in 1500 on the territory of the former German stem-duchy of Swabia. However, it did not include the Habsburg home territories of Swabian Austria, the member states of the Swiss Confederacy nor the lands of the Alsace...
tried in vain in 1549 to claim St Blaise's as an imperial abbey. The four imperial lordships which St Blaise's had acquired by the end of the 13th century — Blumegg, Bettmaringen, Gutenburg and Berauer Berg — in fact formed the nucleus of the reichsunmittelbar lordship of Bonndorf
Bonndorf
Bonndorf is a town in the Waldshut district in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated in the southern Black Forest, 14 km southeast of Titisee-Neustadt. It comprises the villages Boll, Brunnadern, Dillendorf, Ebnet, Gündelwangen, Holzschlag, Wellendingen and Wittlekofen. The town is...
, constituted in 1609, from which the Prince-Abbot
Prince-abbot
A Prince-Abbot is a title for a cleric who is a Prince of the Church , in the sense of an ex officio temporal lord of a feudal entity, notably a State of the Holy Roman Empire. The secular territory ruled by the head of an abbey is known as Prince-Abbacy or Abbey-principality...
s derived their status in the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
.
17th century – present
The abbey was dissolved in the course of secularisation in 1806 and the monastic premises were thereupon used as one of the earliest mechanised factories in Germany. The monks however, under the last Prince-Abbot Dr Berthold Rottler, found their way to St. Paul's Abbey in the LavanttalSt. Paul's Abbey in the Lavanttal
St. Paul's Abbey in the Lavanttal is a Benedictine monastery in the village of Sankt Paul im Lavanttal in the Austrian state of Carinthia.-History:...
in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, where they settled in 1809.
From 1934, the remaining buildings have been occupied by the well-known Jesuit college, the Kolleg St. Blasien
Kolleg St. Blasien
The Kolleg St. Blasien is a state-recognised private Gymnasium and Catholic school with boarding facilities for boys and girls. It is situated in the town of St. Blasien in the German Black Forest. The school has 850 students, 300 of whom are boarders, and is led by members of the Jesuit order...
.
Dom St Blasius
The abbey church burnt down in 1768, and was rebuilt as a 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...
round church by the architect Pierre Michel d'Ixnard, with an enormous dome 46 metres across and 63 metres high (the third-largest in Europe north of the Alps
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....
), during the years up to 1781 under the Prince-Abbot Martin Gerbert
Martin Gerbert
Martin Gerbert , German theologian, historian and writer on music, belonged to the noble family of Gerbert von Hornau, and was born at Horb am Neckar, Württemberg, on the 12th of August 1720....
. It remains as the Dom St Blasius, or "St Blaise's Cathedral" (so called because of its size and magnificence, not because it is a cathedral in any ecclesiastiacal or administrative sense). The effects of another catastrophic fire in 1874 were only finally remedied in the 1980s.
Abbots of St. Blaise's in the Black Forest
- Beringer von Hohenschwanden (945-974)
- Ifo (974-983)
- Siegfried (983-1021)
- Bernhard (1021-1045)
- Werner I (1045–1069)
- Giselbert (1068–1086)
- Otto I (1086–1108)
- Rustenus (1108–1125)
- Berthold I (1125–1141)
- Gunther of Andlau (1141–1170?)
- Werner II of Küssaberg (1170–1178)
- Theodebert of Bussnang (1178–1186)
- Manegold of Hallwil (1186–1204)
- Hermann I of Messkirch (1204–1222)
- Otto II (1222–1223)
- Hermann II (1223–1237)
- Heinrich I (1237–1240)
- Arnold I (1240–1247)
- Arnold II (1247–1276)
- Heinrich II of Stadion (1276–1294)
- Berthold II (1294–1308)
- Heinrich III (1308–1314)
- Ulrich (1314–1334)
- Petrus I of Thayingen (1334–1348)
- Heinrich IV of Eschenz (1348–1391)
- Konrad (1391 )
- Johannes I Kreutz (1391–1413)
- Johannes II Duttlinger (1413–1429)
- Nikolaus Stocker (1429–1460)
- Petrus II Bösch (1460–1461)
- Christopher of Greuth (1461–1482)
- Eberhard von Reischach (1482–1491)
- Blasius I Wambach (1491–1493)
- Georg (Buob?) of Horb (1493–1519)Buob
- Johannes III Spielmann (1519–1532)
- Gallus Haas (1532–1540)
- Johannes IV (1540–1541)
- Caspar I Müller von Schöneck (1541–1571)
- Caspar II Thomae (1571–1596)
- Martin I Meister (1596–1625)
- Blasius II Münster (1625-1638)
- Franz I Chullots (1638-1664)
- Otto II (1664-1672)
- Romanus (1672-1695)
- Augustin Simon Eusebius Finck (1695–1720)
- Blasius III Bender (1720–1727)
- Franz II Schächtelin (1727–1747)
- Coelestin Vogler (1747-1749)
- Meinrad Troger (1749–1764)
- Martin II Gerbert (1764–1793)
- Moritz Ribbele (1793–1801)
- Berthold III Rottler (1801–1806)
External links
St Blaise's Cathedral and the Jesuit community
Sources
- Braun, J.W. (ed.), 2003. Urkundenbuch des Klosters Sankt Blasien im Schwarzwald. Von den Anfängen bis zum Jahr 1299; Teil I: Edition; Teil II: Einführung, Verzeichnisse, Register (= Veröffentlichungen der Kommission für Geschichtliche Landeskunde in Baden-Württemberg: Reihe A, Quellen; Band 23), Stuttgart. ISBN 3-17-017985-3
- Buhlmann, M., 2004. : Benediktinisches Mönchtum im mittelalterlichen Schwarzwald. Ein Lexikon. Vortrag beim Schwarzwaldverein St. Georgen e.V., St. Georgen im Schwarzwald, 10. November 2004, Teil 2: N-Z (= Vertex Alemanniae, H.10/2), pp. 76ff. St. Georgen.
- Ott, H., 1963. Studien zur Geschichte des Klosters St. Blasien im hohen und späten Mittelalter (= Veröffentlichungen der Kommission für geschichtliche Landeskunde in Baden-Württemberg; Reihe B, Band 27). Stuttgart.
- Ott, H., 1965. Die Vogtei über das Kloster St. Blasien seit dem Aussterben der Zähringer bis zum Übergang an das Haus Habsburg, in: Zeitschrift für die Geschichte des Oberrheins, Band 113 (NF 74), pp. 30-44.
- Ott, H., 1969. Die Klostergrundherrschaft St. Blasien im Mittelalter. Beiträge zur Besitzgeschichte (= Arbeiten zum Historischen Atlas von Südwestdeutschland, Bd.4). Stuttgart.
- Quarthal, F. (ed.), 1987. Germania Benedictina, Bd.5: Die Benediktinerklöster in Baden-Württemberg, 2nd ed., pp. 146-160. St. Ottilien. ISBN 3-88096-605-2