Weingarten Abbey
Encyclopedia
Weingarten (Württemberg)
Weingarten is a town with a population of 24,000 in Württemberg, in the District of Ravensburg, in the valley of the Schussen River. Together with the southern neighbour cities of Ravensburg and Friedrichshafen on Lake Constance , it forms one of 14 medium-sized infrastructural centres in...
near Ravensburg
Ravensburg
Ravensburg is a town in Upper Swabia in Southern Germany, capital of the district of Ravensburg, Baden-Württemberg.Ravensburg was first mentioned in 1088. In the Middle Ages, it was an Imperial Free City and an important trading centre...
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...
).
First foundation
In 1056, Welf I, Duke of BavariaWelf I, Duke of Bavaria
Welf I was duke of Bavaria from 1070 to 1077 and from 1096 to his death. He was the first member of the Welf branch of the House of Este. In the Welf genealogy he is counted as Welf IV.-Life and reign:...
, founded a Benedictine monastery on the Martinsberg, overlooking the village of Altdorf, an inheritance from his mother. The name Weingarten (vineyard) is documented from about 1123. (In 1865, the village took the name of the monastery to become the present town of Weingarten). He settled it with monks from Altomünster Abbey
Altomünster Abbey
Altomünster Abbey was a monastery in the small Bavarian market town of Altomünster.A small monastery was founded here by and named after Saint Alto, a wandering monk, in about 750....
. In 1126, Henry IX, Duke of Bavaria
Henry IX, Duke of Bavaria
Henry IX , called the Black, a member of the House of Welf, was duke of Bavaria from 1120 to 1126.-Life and reign:...
, withdrew here after his abdication; he died the same year and was buried in the abbey church.
The monks worked, among other things, at manuscript illumination
Illuminated manuscript
An illuminated manuscript is a manuscript in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as decorated initials, borders and miniature illustrations...
. Their most famous work is the Berthold Sacramentary of 1217, now in the Pierpont Morgan Library in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. Also of especial note is the Welfenchronik, written and illustrated in about 1190, chronicling and glorifying the House of Welf which had its seat at Ravensburg
Ravensburg
Ravensburg is a town in Upper Swabia in Southern Germany, capital of the district of Ravensburg, Baden-Württemberg.Ravensburg was first mentioned in 1088. In the Middle Ages, it was an Imperial Free City and an important trading centre...
nearby.
The monastery was elevated to the status of a Reichsabtei, independent of all territorial lordship except that of the emperor, in 1274.
It acquired territory of 306 km² (118.1 sq mi), stretching from the Allgäu
Allgäu
The Allgäu is a southern German region in Swabia. It covers the south of Bavarian Swabia and southeastern Baden-Württemberg. The region stretches from the prealpine lands up to the Alps...
to the Bodensee and including many forests and vineyards, and was one of the richest monasteries in southern Germany.
From 1715, the Romanesque
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,...
abbey church, constructed between 1124 and 1182, was largely demolished, and replaced between 1715–24 by a large and richly decorated Baroque
Baroque architecture
Baroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
church, which since 1956 has been a papal basilica minor. This church was intended to stand within a monastic site built to the ideal layout, but this undertaking was only partially completed as the north wing would have blocked the via regia
Via Regia
Via Regia, i.e. "Royal Highway", denotes a mediæval historic road. The term, in the usual sense, means not just a specific road, rather a type of road. It was legally associated with the king and remained under his special protection and guarantee of public peace.There were many such roads in the...
or imperial road. Following the order on April 27, 1728 to stop construction on the north wing, the southern wing was extended and the east wing was completed.
In 1803, during the German Mediatisation
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....
, the abbey was dissolved. At first, it became part of the Principality of Nassau-Orange-Fulda
Principality of Nassau-Orange-Fulda
Nassau-Orange-Fulda was the name of a short-lived principality of the Holy Roman Empire, which was created for the Prince of Orange and existed only from 1803 to 1806....
, and then in 1806 part of the Kingdom of Württemberg
Kingdom of Württemberg
The Kingdom of Württemberg was a state that existed from 1806 to 1918, located in present-day Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It was a continuation of the Duchy of Württemberg, which came into existence in 1495...
. The buildings were used inter alia as a factory and as a barracks.
Second foundation
In 1922, Weingarten was re-founded and re-settled by Benedictines from Beuron ArchabbeyBeuron Archabbey
Beuron Archabbey is a major house of the Benedictine Order located at Beuron in the upper Danube valley in Baden-Württemberg in Germany....
and from the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
Abbey of Erdington
Erdington Abbey
Erdington Abbey Church on Sutton Road, Erdington, Birmingham, England, is the more usual name of the grade II listed church of Saints Thomas and Edmund of Canterbury. It is the church of a Roman Catholic parish in the Archdiocese of Birmingham served by the Redemptorists...
(in a suburb of Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
) which had itself been settled from Beuron. In 1940, the monks were expelled by the National Socialists
National Socialist German Workers Party
The National Socialist German Workers' Party , commonly known in English as the Nazi Party, was a political party in Germany between 1920 and 1945. Its predecessor, the German Workers' Party , existed from 1919 to 1920...
, but were able to return after the end of the war.
The monks are responsible for the management of the "Blutritt", or pilgrimage
Pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...
to the Reliquary of the Holy Blood
Holy Blood
Holy Blood is a folk metal band from Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, formed in 1999. The band is notable for being one of the few Christian bands in its genre, and the fact that they are the most successful group on its label Bombworks Records, and the band has been noted world wide despite being an...
in the abbey church; they also run a guesthouse.
Weingarten belongs to the Beuronese Congregation
Beuronese Congregation
The Beuronese Congregation, or Beuron Congregation, is a union of mostly German or German-speaking religious houses of both monks and nuns within the Benedictine Confederation...
of the Benedictine Confederation
Benedictine Confederation
The Benedictine Confederation of the Order of Saint Benedict is the international governing body of the Order of Saint Benedict.-Origin:...
. It is a monastery of two ecclesiastical traditions or rites — one part of the monks follow the Roman Rite
Roman Rite
The Roman Rite is the liturgical rite used in the Diocese of Rome in the Catholic Church. It is by far the most widespread of the Latin liturgical rites used within the Western or Latin autonomous particular Church, the particular Church that itself is also called the Latin Rite, and that is one of...
, the other part the Byzantine
Byzantine Rite
The Byzantine Rite, sometimes called the Rite of Constantinople or Constantinopolitan Rite is the liturgical rite used currently by all the Eastern Orthodox Churches, by the Greek Catholic Churches , and by the Protestant Ukrainian Lutheran Church...
.
Buildings
Basilica
The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...
are a major attraction on the tourist route known as the Oberschwäbische Barockstrasse (Upper Swabian Baroque Route
Upper Swabian Baroque Route
The Upper Swabian Baroque Route is a touristic theme route through Upper Swabia, following the themes of "nature, culture, baroque". The route has a length of about 500 km . It was established in 1966, being one of the first theme routes in Germany...
).
The current church was built between 1715 and 1724 in the Italian-German Baroque style according to plans by Franz Beer. The church is the second largest church in Germany, and is the largest Baroque church in Germany. The 102 meter long church is known as the "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 St. Peter's
St. Peter's Basilica
The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter , officially known in Italian as ' and commonly known as Saint Peter's Basilica, is a Late Renaissance church located within the Vatican City. Saint Peter's Basilica has the largest interior of any Christian church in the world...
" since this church is almost exactly one-half the size of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome
Vatican City
Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
.
Within the church is the famous Gabler Organ, a church organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
that was built between 1735 and 1750 by Joseph Gabler. The organ has over 60 registers
Organ stop
An organ stop is a component of a pipe organ that admits pressurized air to a set of organ pipes. Its name comes from the fact that stops can be used selectively by the organist; some can be "on" , while others can be "off" .The term can also refer...
, 169 ranks, 63 voices and over 6600 pipes
Organ pipe
An organ pipe is a sound-producing element of the pipe organ that resonates at a specific pitch when pressurized air is driven through it. Each pipe is tuned to a specific note of the musical scale...
. It is considered the 44th largest organ in the world.
A wing of the abbey precincts accommodates the present monastery. Other parts of the former abbey house the Pädagogische Hochschule Weingarten and the Academy of the Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart
Bishop of Rottenburg-Stuttgart
The German Catholic Diocese of Rottenburg, established by Pope Pius VII on August 16, 1821, was renamed the Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart on January 18, 1978 under Pope Paul VI. The following men have served as Bishop of the diocese:...
.
Relic of the Holy Blood of Jesus
The greatest treasure of Weingarten was its famous relic of the Precious Blood, still preserved in the church of Weingarten. Its legend runs thus: Longinus, the soldier who opened the Jesus's side with a lance, caught some of the Sacred Blood and preserved it in a leaden box, which later he buried at MantuaMantua
Mantua is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy and capital of the province of the same name. Mantua's historic power and influence under the Gonzaga family, made it one of the main artistic, cultural and notably musical hubs of Northern Italy and the country as a whole...
. Being miraculously discovered in 804, the relic was solemnly exalted by Pope Leo III
Pope Leo III
Pope Saint Leo III was Pope from 795 to his death in 816. Protected by Charlemagne from his enemies in Rome, he subsequently strengthened Charlemagne's position by crowning him as Roman Emperor....
, but again buried during the Hungarian and Norman invasions. In 1048 it was re-discovered and solemnly exalted by Pope Leo IX
Pope Leo IX
Pope Saint Leo IX , born Bruno of Eguisheim-Dagsburg, was Pope from February 12, 1049 to his death. He was a German aristocrat and as well as being Pope was a powerful secular ruler of central Italy. He is regarded as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church, with the feast day of April 19...
in the presence of the emperor, Henry III
Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry III , called the Black or the Pious, was a member of the Salian Dynasty of Holy Roman Emperors...
, and many other dignitaries. It was divided into three parts, one of which the pope took to Rome, the other was given to the emperor, Henry III, and the third remained at Mantua. Henry III bequeathed his share of the relic to Baldwin V, Count of Flanders
Baldwin V, Count of Flanders
Baldwin V of Flanders was Count of Flanders from 1035 until his death.He was the son of Baldwin IV, Count of Flanders, who died in 1035.-History:...
, who gave it to his daughter Juditha. After her marriage to Welf I, Duke of Bavaria
Welf I, Duke of Bavaria
Welf I was duke of Bavaria from 1070 to 1077 and from 1096 to his death. He was the first member of the Welf branch of the House of Este. In the Welf genealogy he is counted as Welf IV.-Life and reign:...
, Juditha presented the relic to Weingarten. The solemn presentation took place in 1090, on the Friday after the feast of the Ascension, and it was stipulated that annually on the same day, which came to be known as Blutfreitag, the relic should be carried in solemn procession.
The procession was prohibited in 1812, but since 1849 it again takes place every year. It is popularly known as the Blutritt. The relic is carried by a rider, der heilige Blutritter, on horseback, followed by many other riders, and many thousand people on foot. the reliquary, formerly of solid gold, set with numerous jewels, and valued at about 70,000 florins, was confiscated by the Government at the suppression of the monastery and replaced by a gilded copper imitation.
Abbots of Weingarten
- Alto c. 750-ca. 770 (in Altomünster)
- Marinus
- Etto c. 780
- Gelzo 780-792
- ...
- Rudolf c. 1000-1025
- Eberhard c. 1025-c. 1040
- Heinrich I 1040-c. 1070 (move to Weingarten 1055)
- Beringer c. 1070-c. 1080
- Adilhelm of Luxemburg c. 1080-c. 1088
- Walicho c. 1088-c. 1108
- Kuno Truchseß of Waldburg-Thann c. 1109-1132
- Arnold c. 1133-c. 1140
- Gerhard Truchseß of Waldburg-Thann c. 1141-c. 1149
- Burkhard c. 1149-c. 1160
- Dietmar of Matsch c. 1160-c. 1180
- Marquard of Triberg c. 1180-c. 1181
- Werner of Markdorff c. 1181-c. 1188
- Saint Meingoz of Lechsgemünd c. 1188-1200
- Berthold of Heimburg 1200-1232
- Hugh de Montfort 1232-1242
- Konrad I of Wagenbach 1242-1265
- Hermann of Biechtenweiler 1265-1299
- Friedrich Heller von Hellerstein 1300-1315
- Konrad II von Ibach 1315-1336
- Konrad III von Überlingen 1336-1346
- Heinrich II von Ibach 1346-1363
- Ludwig von Ibach-Heldenberg 1363-1393
- Johann I von Essendorf 1393-1418
- Johann II Blaarer von Guttingen und Wartensee 1418-1437
- Erhard von Freybank 1437-1455 (d. 1462)
- Jobst Penthelin von Ravensburg 1455-1477
- Kaspar Schieck 1477-1491
- Hartmann von Knorringen-Burgau 1491-1520
- Gerwig Blarer von Görsperg 1520-1567
- Johann III Halblizel 1567-1575
- Johann Christoph Rastner von Zellersberg 1575-1586 (d. 1590)
- Georg Wegelin 1586-1627
- Franz Dietrich 1627-1637
- Domenicus I Laumann von Liebenau 1637-1673
- Alfons von Stadelmayer 1673-1683
- Willibald Kobold 1683-1697
- Sebastian Hyller 1697-1730
- Alfons II Jobst 1730-1738
- Placidus Renz 1738-1745 (d. 1748)
- Domenicus II Schnitzer 1746-1784
- Anselm Ritter 1784-1803
New foundation:
- Ansgar Höckelmann 1922-1934 (or 1943)
- Konrad Winter 1934 (or 1943)-1953
- Wilfrid Fenker 1953-1975
- Dr. Adalbert Metzinger 1975-1982
- Dr. Lukas Weichenrieder 1982-2004
- since 2004 Archabbot Theodor Hogg of Beuron has been administrator of Weingarten.