Altenberg Abbey
Encyclopedia
Altenberg (Bergisches Land)
Altenberg is an Ortsteil in the municipality of Odenthal in the Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia and was formerly the seat of the Counts of Berg...
, now a part of Odenthal
Odenthal
Odenthal is a municipality in the Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.-Geography:Odenthal is situated approx. 5 km north of Bergisch Gladbach and 15 km north-east of Cologne.-Neighbouring places:...
in the Bergisches Land
Bergisches Land
The Bergisches Land is a low mountain range region within the state of Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany, east of Rhine river, south of the Ruhr. The landscape is shaped by woods, meadows, rivers and creeks and contains over 20 artificial lakes...
, North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...
, 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...
.
It was founded in 1133 as a daughter house of Morimond Abbey
Morimond Abbey
Morimond Abbeyis a religious complex in Parnoy-en-Bassigny, Haute-Marne department, in the Champagne-Ardenne region of France. It was the fourth of the four great daughter abbeys of Cîteaux Abbey, of primary importance in the spread of the Cistercian Order, along with La Ferté to the south,...
and settled initially in the old castle of the Counts of Berg, Burg Berge, which the counts had left for Schloss Burg
Schloss Burg
Burg Castle , located in Burg an der Wupper , is the largest reconstructed castle in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and a popular tourist attraction...
, but moved to the new purpose-built monastery in the valley of the Dhünn in 1153. It flourished sufficiently to undertake the settlement of a number of daughter houses of its own: Mariental Abbey
Mariental Abbey
Mariental Abbey in the present Mariental in Lower Saxony, Germany, is a former Cistercian monastery founded in 1138, along with Marienberg Abbey in Helmstedt, by Pfalzgraf Friedrich II von Sommerschenburg....
and Wagrowiec Abbey, both in 1143; Lad Abbey in 1146; Zinna Abbey
Zinna Abbey
Zinna Abbey is a former Cistercian monastery, the site of which is now occupied by a village also called Kloster Zinna, today part of Jüterbog in Brandenburg, Germany, about south of Berlin.- Cistercians :...
in 1171; Haina Abbey in 1188; Jüterbog Abbey in 1282; and Derneburg Abbey in 1443.
In 1803 it was dissolved during the secularisation of Germany
German Mediatisation
The German Mediatisation was the series of mediatisations and secularisations that occurred in Germany between 1795 and 1814, during the latter part of the era of the French Revolution and then the Napoleonic Era....
and fell into ruin. Starting in 1847 under King Frederick William IV of Prussia
Frederick William IV of Prussia
|align=right|Upon his accession, he toned down the reactionary policies enacted by his father, easing press censorship and promising to enact a constitution at some point, but he refused to enact a popular legislative assembly, preferring to work with the aristocracy through "united committees" of...
, a thorough restoration was carried out, and the restored church, known as the Altenberger Dom ("Altenberg Cathedral", although Altenberg was never the seat of a bishopric so this is not technically accurate), is now an interdenominational church used by both Roman Catholics and Protestants.