Hardehausen Abbey
Encyclopedia
Hardehausen Abbey is a former Cistercian monastery located near Warburg
in the district of Höxter
in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia
, Germany
.
on the Lower Rhine. Construction was completed with the dedication of the church in 1165.
Between 1185 and 1243 three daughter houses were founded from Hardehausen: in 1185, Marienfeld Abbey
in Münsterland; in 1196, Bredelar Abbey near Marsberg
; and in 1243, Scharnebeck Abbey in Marienfliess near Lüneburg
. Also, the nunnery at Wilhelmshausen (Walshausen) which Hardehausen had acquired in 1293 and subsequently emptied, was re-established in 1320 with a new community of monks.
During the Thirty Years' War
the abbey was looted and destroyed. During its reconstruction in the years 1680 to 1750 it received its present form.
In 1803 the abbey was secularised
, and the monks expelled. The contents were sold or auctioned, and the church was demolished in 1812. The estates were rented out as state property.
Hardehausen was briefly re-founded as a Cistercian monastery in 1927, but the new community was brought to an end by an order of dissolution issued by the National Socialist government in 1938, when the buildings and grounds were sold to the Henschel company from Kassel
, from whom they were acquired by the Verein für katholische Arbeiterkolonien ("Union for Catholic Workers' Colonies"). In 1944 the Nationalpolitische Erziehungsanstalt (Napola) Bensberg transferred to Hardehausen. At this period an external work party from Buchenwald concentration camp
, consisting of 30 prisoners, were deployed for forced labour in Hardehausen.
Since 1945 the former monastery has been used for the educational activities of the present Archdiocese of Paderborn. Here are located the Jugendhaus Hardehausen (established 1945) and also the Landvolkshochschule Anton Heinen (established 1949, to provide adult education for the entire rural district). In 1970 all the buildings on the site were altered and extended for their educational functions.
Warburg
Warburg is a town in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia on the river Diemel near the three-state point shared by Hessen, Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. It is in Höxter district and Detmold region...
in the district of Höxter
Höxter (district)
Höxter is a Kreis in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Holzminden, Northeim, Kassel, Waldeck-Frankenberg, Hochsauerland, Paderborn, and Lippe.-History:...
in the east of 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...
.
History
In 1009 Herswithehusen became the property of Meinwerk, bishop of Paderborn. The abbey was founded on 28 May 1140, by bishop Bernhard I of Paderborn as a daughter house of Kamp AbbeyKamp Abbey
Kamp Abbey , also known as Altenkamp Abbey or Altfeld Abbey was the first Cistercian monastery founded in German territory, in the present town of Kamp-Lintfort in North Rhine-Westphalia.-History:It was founded in 1123 by Friedrich I, Archbishop of Cologne, and settled from Morimond Abbey...
on the Lower Rhine. Construction was completed with the dedication of the church in 1165.
Between 1185 and 1243 three daughter houses were founded from Hardehausen: in 1185, Marienfeld Abbey
Marienfeld Abbey (Germany)
Marienfeld Abbey is a former Cistercian abbey in the Marienfeld district of Harsewinkel, in the district of Gütersloh, Germany. It was founded in 1185 by monks from Hardehausen Abbey and dissolved in 1803 after German Mediatisation, becoming state property and then in 1804 a parish church...
in Münsterland; in 1196, Bredelar Abbey near Marsberg
Marsberg
Marsberg is a town in the Hochsauerland district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.-History:Although its origins are obscure, Marsberg was a prospering town by the 13th century . It was a free city until 1807, when it was incorporated into the Kingdom of Westphalia, until 1813...
; and in 1243, Scharnebeck Abbey in Marienfliess near Lüneburg
Lüneburg
Lüneburg is a town in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is located about southeast of fellow Hanseatic city Hamburg. It is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region, and one of Hamburg's inner suburbs...
. Also, the nunnery at Wilhelmshausen (Walshausen) which Hardehausen had acquired in 1293 and subsequently emptied, was re-established in 1320 with a new community of monks.
During 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....
the abbey was looted and destroyed. During its reconstruction in the years 1680 to 1750 it received its present form.
In 1803 the abbey was secularised
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 the monks expelled. The contents were sold or auctioned, and the church was demolished in 1812. The estates were rented out as state property.
Hardehausen was briefly re-founded as a Cistercian monastery in 1927, but the new community was brought to an end by an order of dissolution issued by the National Socialist government in 1938, when the buildings and grounds were sold to the Henschel company from Kassel
Kassel
Kassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...
, from whom they were acquired by the Verein für katholische Arbeiterkolonien ("Union for Catholic Workers' Colonies"). In 1944 the Nationalpolitische Erziehungsanstalt (Napola) Bensberg transferred to Hardehausen. At this period an external work party from Buchenwald concentration camp
Buchenwald concentration camp
Buchenwald concentration camp was a German Nazi concentration camp established on the Ettersberg near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937, one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps on German soil.Camp prisoners from all over Europe and Russia—Jews, non-Jewish Poles and Slovenes,...
, consisting of 30 prisoners, were deployed for forced labour in Hardehausen.
Since 1945 the former monastery has been used for the educational activities of the present Archdiocese of Paderborn. Here are located the Jugendhaus Hardehausen (established 1945) and also the Landvolkshochschule Anton Heinen (established 1949, to provide adult education for the entire rural district). In 1970 all the buildings on the site were altered and extended for their educational functions.